Isaiah Thomas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: 2019 FAs, MVP Odds, Oldest Vets

August 15th, 2018 at 7:38pm CST by clarkcrum

An ESPN panel was asked where they think some of the top-projected free agents of 2019 might end up next summer. The results were interesting, with the panel making a prediction for five players: Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson.

As we explored earlier this summer, both Irving and Butler have reportedly expressed interested in playing together, and the panel obviously took that into consideration, predicting both players to suit up for the Knicks next season. However, the Celtics were a close second for Irving.

Interestingly, the Lakers were the second-highest voted selection for both Butler and Thompson, and the first-place selection for Leonard by a wide-margin. Meanwhile, both Thompson and Durant are projected to return to the Warriors.

We have more from around the league:

Bovada has come out with their latest odds for next season’s MVP award, with LeBron James the favorite to win the award at 10/3. Anthony Davis is at 4/1, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at 4.5/1 and last season’s winner James Harden at 5.5/1.
Only three players who began their career before the turn of the century remain playing today. Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki, who debuted in February, 1999 during the lockout-shortened season of 1998/99; and Jason Terry, who debuted later that calendar year during the 1999/00 season.
Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders has created a list of players who he feels are prime candidates for a bounce-back season during 2018/19. The list includes Leonard, Markelle Fultz, Jabari Parker, Isaiah Thomas, Carmelo Anthony, and Danilo Gallinari.

Isaiah Thomas Apologizes For Remarks About Cleveland

August 12th, 2018 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Cavaliers guard Isaiah Thomas has apologized for making a profane reference to Cleveland in an Instagram video, according to an ESPN story.

Thomas, who had a frustrating 15-game stay with the Cavaliers last season, used a vulgar term to describe the city, then added, “I can see why LeBron left — again.” He later posted a second video to Instagram in an effort to smooth over those remarks.

“Nah, Cleveland was cool,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said that, that was my bad. I was just talking on IG Live, I didn’t think it was gonna get to where they’re posting it.”

Thomas was considered a key part of last summer’s blockbuster trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. However, his hip injury forced him to miss about half the season before making his Cleveland debut.

He averaged 14.7 PPG during his time with the Cavs, but became a scapegoat for the team’s poor performance on defense and tensions in the locker room. Thomas was traded to the Lakers in February and signed with the Nuggets in free agency last month.

Northwest Notes: McCollum, Diallo, Udoh, Thomas

August 3rd, 2018 at 5:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey doesn’t seem inclined to break up his smallish backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports notes. Olshey recently said he plans to keep his core group together, despite the team’s first-round flameout in the Western Conference playoffs last season. It might be wise to deal one of them for an impact forward but either Olshey has great faith in his guards or he’s tested the market and couldn’t find a worthwhile deal, Feldman adds.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Hamidou Diallo feels a sense of relief after signing a contract with the Thunder but isn’t sure what kind of role he can carve out, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman reports. The second-round rookie shooting guard was acquired in a draft-night deal. “We haven’t even spoken about a role yet,” Diallo told Dawson. “We’re still playing pickup ball and stuff like that, still training. Guys are just coming in, veteran players, and trying to teach us as much as possible as early as possible.” Diallo, who received a three-year, $4MM contract, will compete with newcomers Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Abdel Nader for backup minutes.
The Jazz brought back big man Ekpe Udoh because of his defense and positive attitude, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Udoh was signed by Utah last season because of his reputation as a strong defender and he lived up to that billing, posting an average of 1.2 blocks per game. He also showed a superior ability to guard on the perimeter during switches and pick-and-rolls, Jones continues. Udoh, who will serve as the team’s third center, never complained last season when his role diminished, Jones adds. Udoh had his $3.36MM salary guaranteed last month.
Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas had to settle for a one-year, $2MM contract in free agency but he’s determined to be a major bargain for his new team, as he told Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. “This has been tough, but it was only a tough year because I wasn’t healthy. My job is to get as healthy as I possibly can and then show the world what I’m capable of doing,” he said.

And-Ones: Kelly, O’Bryant, Leonard, Booker, Curry

July 30th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Lakers and Hawks forward Ryan Kelly has signed a contract to play for SunRockeres Shibuya of Japan next season, according to a Sportando report. Kelly spent last season with Real Betis in Spain and averaged 13.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG.

Kelly, 27, last appeared in the NBA during the 2016/17 season with Atlanta, when he saw action in 16 games. He spent his first three seasons with the Lakers. The 6’11” power forward has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 19.2 MPG in his 163-game NBA career.

In other basketball news domestically and overseas:

Maccabi Tel Aviv is close to signing power forward Johnny O’Bryant, according to another Sportando report. O’Bryant, 25, played 36 games last season with the Hornets, averaging 4.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 10.5 MPG. O’Bryant, 25, was traded to the Knicks in February and then waived. The 6’9” O’Bryant has also played for the Nuggets and Bucks, who selected him 36th overall in the 2014 draft.
Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Victor Oladipo and Ben Simmons are among the dark-horse candidates to win the Most Valuable Player award, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. A healthy Leonard would quickly become a prime MVP candidate, O’Connor opines, while Booker could have a breakout campaign after showing steady progress in his first three seasons.
DeMarcus Cousins (Warriors) and Isaiah Thomas (Nuggets) are obvious choices as the best bargains in free agency but as Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated notes, there are several other players who could fall into that category. Ed Davis (Nets), Seth Curry (Trail Blazers) and Brook Lopez (Bucks) should all provide production that far outweigh the deals that they signed, in Mahoney’s view.

Western Notes: Capela, Durant, Leonard, Williams

July 27th, 2018 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clint Capela‘s new five-year contract with the Rockets on Friday, initially reported to be worth $90MM, is technically guaranteed for $80MM with $10MM in incentives, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Those annual incentives include $1MM for reaching the Western Conference finals, $500K for finishing with a 30% defensive rebounding rate, and $500K for shooting at least 65% from the free throw line, according to Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post (Twitter link).

We have more from the Western Conference:

Kevin Durant‘s decision to take a one-plus-one contract with the Warriors kept his options open beyond the upcoming season, as he explained to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Durant will make $30MM the first year with a $31.5MM player option for the 2019/20 season. “The [one-plus-one] was the perfect thing for me to do, to keep things open for me — financially and what I want to do,” he told Charania. “It’s just one of those things.”
The Celtics offered at least two of the first-round picks they own from other teams for Kawhi Leonard, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Those picks, as Dan Feldman of NBC Sports writes, include the higher of the Kings’ and 76ers’ pick next summer, unless it’s the top overall pick; the Grizzlies’ first-rounder, which is top-eight protected next summer and top-six protected in 2020; and the Clippers’ pick, which is lottery-protected the next two summers and then converts to a second-rounder. The Spurs instead decided to take another All-Star, DeMar DeRozan, in a package for Leonard. The way the Spurs organization treated Leonard may have had more to do with his departure than any issues with his teammates, Feldman notes in a separate piece, relaying reporting from Lowe and ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
C.J. Williams is a perfect waiver claim candidate, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Williams, who was waived by the Clippers on Friday, is on a $1.4MM non-guaranteed contract with $125K in protection if he’s not waived by opening night, Marks continues. His $1.6MM salary in 2019/20 has a $200K guarantee if he’s not waived by the first game, Marks adds.
The Nuggets’ second unit will likely be led by Mason Plumlee, Isaiah Thomas, Trey Lyles and Torrey Craig, Chris Dempsey of the team’s website predicts. Dempsey dispenses his views on recent developments involving the club in his latest mailbag.

Isaiah Thomas Reached Out To Celtics Before Signing With Nuggets

July 23rd, 2018 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

Before he officially signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Nuggets, Isaiah Thomas reached out to Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to see if a return to Boston might be possible, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Thomas, he and Ainge talked for about 15 or 20 minutes, with the point guard saying, “If the opportunity is there, I would just like to let you know that I’d love to come back.”

Ainge didn’t rule out the possibility of re-signing Thomas less than a year after trading him to Cleveland, but he and the Celtics needed to address Marcus Smart‘s contract situation before deciding whether a reunion with Thomas was in the cards. While Ainge was willing to continue the conversation, Thomas elected to sign with Denver before the C’s locked up Smart, closing the door on the possibility for now. Still, it sounds like Thomas would be open to heading back to Boston in the future if the opportunity arises.

“S–t, I’d have gone back,” Thomas says. “I don’t hold grudges.”

Here’s more on Thomas from Wojnarowski’s feature:

The Nuggets‘ offer was the only real one Thomas received in free agency, which he calls “disrespectful.” However, he believes that his health was a major deterrent for interested teams. “People are scared of my hip now,” Thomas said, per Wojnarowski. “I just had to be real with myself. I had to understand that it’s not going to be about the money this summer. I’ve got to show people that I can play — and play at a high level again. And I will.”
Thomas views his decision to play through his hip injury in the 2017 postseason as one that cost him in the long term. “If I didn’t play in the playoffs, I’d be OK,” Thomas said. “I’d be getting paid. I’d be who I am — who I was. But you couldn’t tell me in that moment in time — with everything I was going through — that, OK, I should just sit out. … I played until I literally couldn’t play anymore. And that was not a good business decision if I was looking in the long term, but I was looking in the ‘right now.’ That’s just what it was.”
Thomas also believes it was a mistake to get back on the court in January for the Cavaliers, suggesting he should have waited until after the All-Star break rather than rushing back early.
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said he’ll welcome Thomas’ “voice and personality” into what has been a “quiet” locker room. “I want Isaiah to be Isaiah,” Malone said.
Thomas isn’t concerned about his specific role in Denver as long as he gets the opportunity to show that he’s healthy. “I’m not worried about starting or coming off the bench now,” Thomas said. “I’m worried about playing well and showing the world who I am again. Once the people see that I can play — and play at a high level still — they won’t be able to deny me next summer. They won’t be able to deny me what I bring on the court and off the court for an organization.”

Northwest Notes: Noel, Thomas, Favors, Blazers

July 18th, 2018 at 6:17pm CST by clarkcrum

Five years removed from being drafted No. 6 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, newly-acquired Thunder big man Nerlens Noel is looking to rehabilitate both his game and reputation in Oklahoma City, writes Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman.

A one-and-done talent at college powerhouse Kentucky, Noel is aware of the rumors surrounding his game – that he’s a talented but unwilling to work – but he’s ready to come out this season and turn things around.

The Thunder are ready for that too, which is why head coach Billy Donovan and All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George all made recruiting pitches to Noel on the first night of free agency.

“I’m excited about having him,” Donovan said. “He’s early in his career, and I know his career probably hasn’t evolved into what he’d hoped when he was a rookie. But he’s still very young, and he’s still got a lot of time to continue to get better.”

Noel has yet to have much of any success at the NBA level so far. He sat out his first season in Philadelphia recovering from injury and then saw his playing time dwindle after the Sixers drafted up-and-coming star Joel Embiid. But now that Noel feels he has a new home where winning is a priority, he is ready to prove his worth.

“You want to be in a situation where you’re wanted on a team that really wants to win,” Noel said. “That means the utmost to me, and that’s what my game is. I don’t think playing on teams that are really headed in the other direction complements me as well or makes me look as good as I might want to.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Armed with deep motivation after having his career curtailed by injury, Nuggets point guard Isaiah Thomas is eager to play for a team who wanted him, reports Christopher Dempsey of Nuggets.com. Thomas, who played for head coach Mike Malone in Sacramento during his breakout season in 2013-14, credits Malone’s trust in him as a key to his continued success.
Per Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com, Jazz forward Derrick Favors is looking for an increased role on offense next season. During his free agent meeting with Utah’s front office, the two parties spoke about getting Favors more cuts to the basket and playing out of pick-and-roll or dribble-handoffs more often.
The Trail Blazers have made a couple of minor roster moves in the past day or so, deciding to retain guard Wade Baldwin and part ways with center Georgios Papagiannis.

Nuggets Sign Isaiah Thomas

July 16th, 2018 at 1:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 16: The Nuggets have officially signed Thomas, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 12: The Nuggets will sign free agent guard Isaiah Thomas to a one-year contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He will accept a veteran’s minimum deal (Twitter link) and will join forces with head coach Michael Malone, who previously coached Thomas in Sacramento.

Thomas will have a $2,029,463 salary for the upcoming season, while Denver will absorb a $1,512,601 cap hit.

Thomas will try to rediscover the form that made him an MVP candidate in Boston after a brutal season that saw him traded to the Cavaliers and Lakers. He sat out the first half of the season while recovering from a lingering hip injury, then played just 15 games for Cleveland before being moved. The veteran guard was a controversial figure with the Cavs, facing frequent complaints over his attitude and poor defense.

Thomas’ performance was a little better with the Lakers, but he appeared in just 17 games before undergoing minor hip surgery in March. He has since declared himself fully healed from that procedure.

An opportunity may be waiting in Denver, which could use another scorer after trading Wilson Chandler to the Sixers last week. The Nuggets also didn’t have a ton of backcourt depth behind starting point guard Jamal Murray, so Thomas could be a key contributor and offensive play-maker for the club.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Celtics Notes: Thomas, Rivers, Williams, Henry

July 15th, 2018 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas is on his third team since being traded from the Celtics, but his role in Boston’s quick turnaround shouldn’t be overlooked, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Thomas, who agreed to sign with the Nuggets this week, helped the Celtics reach the playoffs after coming to the organization in February of 2015, then was part of 48- and 53-win seasons.

That success made Boston an attractive option for free agents Al Horford and Gordon Hayward and put the franchise in a position to trade for Kyrie Irving.

“Isaiah added credibility to our team by making us a legitimate basketball team,” said president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. “And on top of that he was very entertaining. But he was all-in. He was all-in for the team. He was recruiting Al Horford to come. He was recruiting Gordon Hayward to come to play with him. He’s earned a lot of respect in my eyes.”

There’s more Celtics news to pass along:

With the three stars of the Lob City era all gone from the Clippers, coach Doc Rivers plans to use the Celtics’ experience as a blueprint for rebuilding, Bulpett writes in a separate story. “They’ve done it as well as it’s ever been done,” Rivers said, “because all these other teams, including us now, everybody has a plan, but the plan has to work. And if it doesn’t work, then you have to start over again with another plan. And Danny and them have been able to run their plan.”
The Celtics haven’t given up on the possibility of first-round pick Robert Williams playing in the summer league, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Williams is getting constant treatment on his aching left knee and is considered questionable for today’s quarterfinal contest. “If Danny wants him to play, if Robert feels he can, if our training staff feels he’s not at risk of reinjuring it, we’d love to have him,” said assistant coach Jay Larranaga. “… He just keeps getting better and better. Who knows when he’ll be able to play, but he does seem to be getting better.”
Pierria Henry has been the best point guard on the Celtics’ summer league team, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn expects him to be considered for a spot with Boston’s G League affiliate if he doesn’t return to Turkey.

Eastern Rumors: Parker, Bulls, Bucks, Faried

July 13th, 2018 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Amidst speculation that the Bulls are clearing cap room for a major move, multiple reports continue to link Chicago native Jabari Parker to the club.

One NBA executive who spoke to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times claimed that the Bulls are “most definitely” interested in Parker, while Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago says he thinks “there’s some smoke” to rumors connecting the team to the Bucks‘ restricted free agent. Sources say Parker would like to be a Bull, Goodwill adds (Twitter link).

While it’s possible that the Bulls are gearing up to make a play for Parker, I’m not sure he’s an ideal match for their roster, given that he fits best at the power forward spot. Chicago has already made one big long-term commitment this month by matching Zach LaVine‘s offer sheet with Sacramento. For a team said to be prioritizing cap flexibility going forward, a lucrative offer sheet for Parker would be a surprise, which makes me wonder if the supposed mutual interest is stronger on Parker’s side than on the Bulls’ side.

As we wait to see how Parker’s market plays out, here are a few more notes and rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

Within his latest article, Woelfel writes that the Bucks have been exploring possible trades for Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson, but haven’t had any success.
The Nets and Kenneth Faried‘s representatives were set to talk this morning to see what the team’s plan is for Faried, per TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). There have been no indications yet that Brooklyn plans to buy out Faried — if the team offers him a larger role than the one he had in Denver, he may be happy to stick with the Nets for 2018/19.
In a mailbag focusing on the Magic‘s point guard situation, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reiterates that the team’s interest in Isaiah Thomas was overstated, writing that the front office talked to Thomas’ camp, but never pursued a contract agreement.
In order to succeed with the Wizards, newly-signed center Dwight Howard will have to be willing to make some sacrifices for the team, John Wall told Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “He has to buy into that and not try to say it’s all about him or try to do this for himself,” Wall said. “Just do it for the whole team and group and I think we will be fine.”