Garrett Temple Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jazz Interested In Garrett Temple

August 10th, 2015 at 4:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:52pm: The Wizards aren’t anxious to move Temple, and he wouldn’t come cheaply, Michael hears (Twitter links). GM Ernie Grunfeld and coach Randy Wittman are fans of the guard, Michael adds.

4:26pm: The Jazz have yet to contact the Wizards about Temple, a source told Michael for an updated version of his story.

MONDAY, 3:29pm: The Wizards would probably take back either no salary, allowing them to create a trade exception, or a player on a non-guaranteed contract that Washington would turn around and waive, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Undrafted shooting guard Dez Wells from the University of Maryland, who has offers for camp deals from five other teams but had ruled out the Wizards, would be open to signing with Washington if Temple’s roster spot opens, Michael hears.

FRIDAY, 12:10pm: The Wizards aren’t opposed to a trade involving Temple, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt hears (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 4:22pm: In the wake of the heartbreaking news that second-year guard Dante Exum is likely to miss the entire 2015/16 campaign with a torn ACL, the Jazz are interested in acquiring Garrett Temple from the Wizards, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News reports (Twitter links). Utah coach Quin Snyder is familiar with Temple from when both were with the Spurs during the 2009/10 season, Genessy adds.

Temple, 29, had picked up his player option worth his minimum salary of nearly $1.101MM back in June in order to return to the Wizards. He made 52 appearances for Washington last season, including 18 starts, though much of his time was spent at shooting guard, as Basketball-Reference illustrates. In 2014/15, Temple averaged 3.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.2 minutes per game, and owned a slash line of .400/.375/.729.

It’s unclear if the Wizards would be willing to trade Temple, whose size (6’6″) and defensive abilities would help Utah compensate for the loss of Exum, Genessy adds (on Twitter). Utah currently has close to $7MM in cap room, and can open more than $10MM if they waive their players with non-guaranteed salaries, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes. The Jazz also possess draft-and-stash signee Raul Neto, as well as Bryce Cotton to back up likely starter Trey Burke.

Garrett Temple Opts In With Wizards

June 15th, 2015 at 2:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 15TH, 2:05pm: Temple is indeed opting in, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

MAY 18TH, 12:21pm: Garrett Temple said today that he’s pretty sure he’ll pick up his player option, worth his minimum salary of nearly $1.101MM, to return to the Wizards next season, observes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (Twitter link). The combo guard just finished his third season with Washington and his first on a two-year contract he signed to stay with the club last summer. An opt-in wouldn’t do much to hurt the Wizards financially, since with nearly $65MM in guaranteed salary for next season already poised to count against a projected $67.1MM salary cap, Washington has little chance of opening cap space no matter what Temple ultimately does with his option.

The one-time journeyman has found a home with the Wizards after he saw action for five different NBA teams across his first two seasons after going undrafted out of LSU. Temple, who turned 29 earlier this month, made 18 starts in 52 appearances for Washington this season and played almost exclusively at shooting guard after having seen a large chunk of his time at the point in 2013/14, as Basketball-Reference shows. His 37.5% shooting on three-point attempts was a career-best mark as he averaged 3.9 points in 14.1 minutes per game. Temple missed nearly two months with a right hamstring injury late in the season, and he wasn’t much of a factor in the playoffs, totaling seven points in 26 minutes across four appearances.

The Wizards seem set at the point, where John Wall and Ramon Sessions have guaranteed salary for next season while the team holds Non-Bird rights on Will Bynum, but there’s no clear backup for Bradley Beal at two-guard aside from Temple. The Wizards would be well shy of the projected $81.6MM tax line even if Temple and Paul Pierce pick up their player options and the team uses the full mid-level exception, so Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld and company are probably pleased with the idea that Temple appears ready to come back at a low cost.

And-Ones: Temple, Powell, Vucevic

April 3rd, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unlike Orlando’s past star big men such as Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard, Nikola Vucevic is determined to be a member of the Magic for his entire career, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “Yeah. I’m here for the long haul,” Vucevic said. “I love it here. I really love the city. I’ve improved a lot as a player. I’d love to stay here for a long time and make something special happen. If it takes years, it takes years. I ain’t going anywhere.” The big man will have a few years before his loyalty to Orlando will be tested since his current deal runs through the 2018/19 season.

Here’s more from around the league:

Wizards swingman Garrett Temple began running and participating in drills this week and said he is at 80% strength, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post notes. Temple, who strained his right hamstring back on March 9th, was projected to be out approximately four to six weeks, putting his return date within the original prediction.
The Mavericks have re-assigned center Dwight Powell to the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. This will be Powell’s 13th trek of the season to the D-League.
The 2015 NCAA tournament is winding down and only four teams remain standing. Chris Mannix of SI.com looks at the draft prospects who have the most to gain from standout performances in the Final Four and beyond. Mannix’s list includes Justise Winslow (Duke), Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky), Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), and Devin Booker (Kentucky).

And-Ones: Cavs, D-League, Temple

November 3rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Not surprisingly, three of the NBA’s four unbeaten teams reside in the Western Conference, where the Warriors, Rockets and Grizzlies are all 3-0. The East’s lone unbeaten is the franchise that’s won the last four conference championships, but it’s nonetheless surprising to see the Heat back atop the conference standings after they lost LeBron James this past summer. While we wait to see if Miami will continue to reign without King James, here’s the latest from around the league:

The Cavs feel like they made concessions in their final extension offer to Tristan Thompson, which exceeded $48MM over four years, but neither side has any hard feelings in the wake of the failed negotiations, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
NBA teams kept the D-League rights to 47 players cut during camp this year, the D-League announced, listing all of them. The Mavs, Warriors and Suns used all four spots available to each NBA team to reserve the rights to such players, so they can’t keep the D-League rights to anyone they waive during the regular season, unlike the rest of the teams in the NBA. Renaldo Balkman, Bernard James, Doron Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, Peyton Siva, Malcolm Lee and Earl Barron are this year’s “affiliate players” with NBA experience.
Garrett Temple refrains from drinking, smoking and tattoos, and he’s convinced the straight-arrow approach has helped him win jobs during his career, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post observes. Injuries to others have thrust Temple into the starting lineup for the Wizards, who re-signed him this summer for two years at the minimum salary.

Wizards Sign Garrett Temple

July 29th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 29TH: The deal is official, according to the RealGM transactions log and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), though the team has yet to make an announcement.

JULY 18TH: The Wizards have struck a deal with Garrett Temple that will allow the free agent guard to return to Washington, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington (Twitter link). It’ll be a two-year contract for the minimum salary that includes a player option for the final season, Michael adds (on Twitter). The move had been expected, as Michael wrote earlier this week.

Still, there were other teams in the market for the 28-year-old client of John Hamilton, as the Heat, Magic and Bulls all appeared to show interest. One report indicated he was leaning toward signing with Miami, while another contended that the wasn’t considering any offer from the Heat. Temple said early this month that he’d look at other teams but that he’d “love” to sign a new deal with the Wizards.

Temple bounced around the fringes of the league at the beginning of his career, playing for three teams in each of the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons. He finally gained firm footing with the Wizards in 2012/13, starting 36 games, but Washington had less call for him this past season, and his 1.8 points and 8.5 minutes per game were the lowest of his career. The new deal nonetheless signals that the Wizards have trust that Temple would perform capably if pressed into more action this coming year.

And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew

July 16th, 2014 at 12:25am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:

The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Love, Rondo, Stephenson

July 8th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics and Timberwolves haven’t spoken in more than a week about a Kevin Love trade, two sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Three GMs tell Bulpett that if the Celtics changed gears and attempted to trade Rajon Rondo, they would have a hard time finding full value for him on the trade market at present, though it’s unclear precisely why. There’s more on the C’s from Bulpett’s piece amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics have yet to contact Lance Stephenson or agent Alberto Ebanks, according to Bulpett, despite Monday’s report that the C’s had interest.
The Hornets and Wizards are the front-runners for Kris Humphries while the Celtics seem like they’re removing themselves from the pursuit, a source tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
A source tells Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com that Garrett Temple isn’t weighing any offer from the Heat. A Monday report indicated that the point guard was leaning toward signing with Miami.
The Pistons have jumped into the running for Brian Roberts, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, who reiterates his earlier report that the Grizzlies are interested, too.
The Heat‘s path to signing Carmelo Anthony would be complex and hard to configure financially, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com details, while Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for Hoop365, outlines a much more palatable scenario that lands ‘Melo with the Bulls.
The Knicks have officially named Kurt Rambis as the team’s lead assistant coach, the team announced. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com first reported the deal, and Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the Knicks offered four years at an annual salary of $1.2MM to lure him from his job as a Lakers assistant coach.

Heat Rumors: LeBron, Riley, Williams, Temple

July 7th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of South Beach..

A summit between Heat president Pat Riley and LeBron James will probably go down in the next 24 hours but likely won’t be in Miami, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
No guarantees were made, but Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts committed to the Heat with a strong belief that LeBron James will be their teammate, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (on Twitter).
People who have had phone conversations with Riley have come away with the impression that he is confident the Big Three will return, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
The Heat are no longer in pursuit of Marvin Williams after using the mid-level exception on Josh McRoberts, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Garrett Temple is leaning towards signing with the Heat, tweets Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The Wizards also want to bring Temple back and the Magic and Bulls were said to have interest.
There’s still mutual interest between Greg Oden and the Heat, but no decision has been made one way or another, Reynolds tweets.

Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Heat, McRoberts

July 1st, 2014 at 1:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

Plenty of teams are hoping for a chance to pitch to LeBron James, but the Wizards aren’t one of them, as owner Ted Leonsis explained in an appearance on 106.7 The Fan today. Scott Allen of The Washington Post has the transcription.

“You’d have to have cap space and you’d have to renounce all your free agents,” Leonsis said. “Then you’d have to be able to call their agent and say, ‘Would you think he would consider coming here?’ So, I never understood the grandstanding. Some of the bloggers have said, just get in the mix and throw your name out there. OK, so you generate positive pixels and it creates these faux expectations, and LeBron is in total control of his future. LeBron will do what LeBron wants to do. We have to be able to control what we want to control, and right now our main targets are retaining our players.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

The Heat‘s top two targets for outside improvement appear to be Kyle Lowry and Luol Deng, but neither seem likely to end up with the team, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Deng is unwilling to take a discount to go to Miami, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, probably putting him out of reach (Twitter link).
Hornets free agent power forward Josh McRoberts and the Blazers have mutual interest in a deal, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears.
The Wizards would like to bring back free agent point guard Garrett Temple, but they face competition from the Heat, Magic and Bulls, who have also expressed interest, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
The Hawks are interested in re-signing Elton Brand, but the Knicks are eyeing him, too, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Eastern Notes: Irving, Nets, Bucks, Raptors

June 30th, 2014 at 2:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

David Blatt‘s hiring as Cavs coach elicited conversations between Kyrie Irving and the team that were more positive in tone than any others to date, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Cavs officials are heading to Irving’s home in New Jersey to present a max extension offer to Irving as soon as the extension window opens tonight, as Broussard notes, confirming a report from earlier this month (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Nets and Bucks won’t be able to trade with each other during 2014/15 as a result of the Jason Kidd deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
Some in the Raptors organization are concerned that teams will make offers to Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez at figures that Toronto is unwilling to match, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
The Raptors failed to waive Tyler Hansbrough by the Sunday guarantee date listed in his contract, so his partial guarantee of $1MM for next season has become a fully guaranteed $3,326,235 salary.
The Wizards had been making Martell Webster available in trade talk before his back surgery, which likely torpedoed movement toward any deal, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Washington reciprocates Garrett Temple‘s interest in returning, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, who deems the point guard’s return to the Wizards as likely.
Soon-to-be restricted free agent Ekpe Udoh has changed agents, going with Brandon Grier and Michael Silverman of Athlete Management Group, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. The Bucks big man had previously been with Chris Luchey of CGL Sports.