Isaiah Thomas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Valanciunas, Celtics, Knicks

September 3rd, 2015 at 8:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors feel confident that center Jonas Valanciunas, who signed a four-year, $64MM extension with the team this offseason, will continue to develop and that he will justify the long-term commitment from the franchise, Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com writes. “JV is 23 years old,” Toronto GM Masai Ujiri said. “The contract gives him some security and lets him now concentrate on playing basketball and winning. It’s big for us, but we feel he made progress. He’s a great kid. Loves the city, loves the fans, loves everything about Toronto and that’s what we want to embrace here. He showed us a lot on the basketball court and we think he’ll get better.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Celtics coach Brad Stevens believes that the team’s roster continuity from the 2014/15 campaign will lead to improvement this coming season, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays. “[Continuity] should be a benefit. Again, I think my phrase will be, ‘Time will tell,’” said Stevens. “I mean, we’ll see. I think my curiosity lies in how we go to work, how we come together, how much we’re willing to sacrifice for one another and see how this thing plays itself out. But I think you’d rather have guys for a longer period than not and that continuity is a good thing. We have basically nine guys back from our roster that played quite a bit. That’s a good thing, too.“
The Knicks are still in a state of flux because they still lack a second star player, even a borderline one, to team up with Carmelo Anthony, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes in his preview of the team. Powell does praise team president Phil Jackson for not overspending on second-tier free agents this Summer after New York’s top targets signed elsewhere.
In his look ahead at the Celtics‘ 2015/16 season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines that Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas, and Jonas Jerebko are all poised to have breakout seasons for the team.

And-Ones: Thomas, Pistons, Mudiay

May 24th, 2015 at 9:18pm CST by Will Joseph

Isaiah Thomas said he was asked by Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to name free agents he’d like to play with, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports. The exchange has made Thomas, who has been vocal about his desire for starting in the past, feel like he is part of the Celtics’ future, Himmelsbach adds. “Danny said if there’s any free agent out there I’m interested in, to let him know,” Thomas said. “That has me excited. For him to ask for my input means a lot, because it means I’m definitely, right now, a part of the future, and they also value your word and what you think about the game of basketball. It means a lot, and it’s a mutual respect we have. Now, hopefully, we can get a few guys.”

Thomas did not name any player specifically, but he said a big man is a top priority. “A defensive-minded player,” he told Himmelsbach. “It’d be nice to get one of those in the draft. A lot of the big men out there could definitely help us out. But I know Danny is always up to something.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said the team will hire a full-time shooting coach by July, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. The Pistons ranked 27th out of 30 teams last season in field-goal percentage (43.2%), and also ranked 29th in free-throw percentage at 70.3%, as Mayo points out.
The Jazz hosted Andrew Harrison, Terry Rozier, Vince Hunter, J.P. Tokoto, Treveon Graham and Aaron White in a pre-draft workout, and Walt Perrin, vice president of player personnel, said he wasn’t too surprised with the results, Melissa Yack writes in a piece for the Deseret News. “I thought Terry played — I know Terry can shoot it, but I thought he shot it pretty well today,” Perrin said. “Other than that — Andrew maybe could have shot it a little better, but surprises no.”
Stanley Johnson believes he can be an impactful and versatile defender in the league, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders writes. “In today’s day and age, it’s about defensive versatility. How many people you can guard and how well you can do it,” Johnson said. “I can guard fours. I can guard Draymond Green. I can guard Kawhi Leonard. I can guard Mike Conley — I can stay with him at least,” he continued. “You guard people in stints, I can definitely stint the minutes for sure.” In 38 games with Arizona, the small forward averaged 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and played well defensively.
The top four teams in the draft — the Wolves, Lakers, Sixers and Knicks — reached out to Emmanuel Mudiay‘s agents, but the guard who played last season in the Chinese Basketball Association likely won’t work out for them until early June, tweets SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria, who cites a source.
Boston College guard Olivier Hanlan worked out for the Spurs, and is hopeful he will be selected in the first round of the draft, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe writes.

Celtics Notes: Thomas, Ainge, Offseason

May 1st, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge believes that Boston is indeed a marquee destination for free agents, but the team needs to be more aggressive in how it markets itself to players, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “Most of the guys that have played here love it here, and they don’t want to leave once they’re here,” Ainge said. “Not all of them are really excited about coming here when they first get here, but usually by the time they leave they love the organization and they love the city. So we need to get that word out. Some players will like it and some won’t. It’s that simple. Some players will choose sunshine over cold, but ultimately, most players want to be paid, they want an opportunity to play their game and be respected by the league, and they want an opportunity to win.”

Here’s more out of Beantown:

Ainge also addressed point guard Isaiah Thomas‘ desire to be a starter, and pointed to past Celtics stars who embraced the sixth man role for the franchise, Bulpett notes. “Isaiah is one of the top point guards in the league, so I understand that,” Ainge said. “I think that what makes him great is he’s a driven guy who really wants to be recognized as one of the great little guys that’s ever played basketball, and I guess to encourage him to feel like he can still do that by coming off the bench, a la John Havlicek and Kevin McHale and Cedric Maxwell and many of the Celtic greats that came off the bench. But like right now for our team I think Isaiah is more suited for a bench role, but ultimately that’s Brad Stevens’ and Isaiah’s, you know, how he plays and Brad’s decisions, because Isaiah expends a ton of energy to score.“
The Celtics’ front office isn’t sure what the trade market will hold this offseason, or if the franchise will be able to capitalize on its wealth of trade exceptions, Bulpett writes in a separate article. “I mean, all we can do is guess,” said Ainge. “We can guess like the fans can guess, but no one really knows. Hey, I don’t know. There haven’t been any talks since trade deadline. Occasionally, when you have trade-deadline conversations where the trigger wasn’t pulled on certain deals, we may have some indication of players that are available or may be available. I feel like we need to have a busy summer, and we will have a busy summer.“

Pacific Rumors: Kings, Granger, Thomas

April 19th, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Kings have several decisions to make regarding their backcourt, Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press reports. Starting shooting guard Ben McLemore only showed slight improvement in his second season while backup Nik Stauskas struggled during his rookie campaign, in part because the team had two coaching changes during the season, Gonzalez continues. The club also has to decide whether to retain backup point guards Ray McCallum and David Stockton. McCallum’s approximate $947,000 contract for next season is not guaranteed, while Stockton has a non-guaranteed salary of $845,059 for next season.

In other news around the Pacific Division:

Danny Granger has not decided whether to exercise the approximate $2.17MM player option on his contract for next season, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Granger, who was acquired by the Suns from the Heat during the trade deadline, has been working with the team’s athletic training staff to overcome health issues associated with his twice-surgically repaired left knee, Coro continues. Granger is building a house in the area, Coro adds, a potential sign that he’s planning to return to the team next season.
Isaiah Thomas learned quickly that he made a mistake when he signed with the Suns as a free agent last summer, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe writes. Thomas, who was dealt to the Celtics at the trade deadline, was sold on the idea of joining Phoenix after getting advice from Jason Terry, Himmelsbach reports. Thomas realized once the season started that sharing playing time and the ball with fellow point guards Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe was not going to work out, Himmelsbach continues. “I was taking a step back,” Thomas said to Himmelsbach. “We all wanted the ball and are all talented, but somebody ended up upset every night. It’s something that everyone thought would work, but it just didn’t.”
Jeremy Lin views a return to the Lakers as a possibility despite a tumultuous season, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times reports. Lin, who becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, believes the prospects of remaining with the club improved after a productive exit meeting with coach Byron Scott and GM Mitch Kupchak, Pincus adds. “That would be great,” Lin said to Pincus about re-signing with the Lakers. “There’s so much that needs to happen, but that’s definitely an option for me.” Lin averaged 11.2 points on 42.4% shooting this season, his lowest output in both categories since his rookie season in 2010/11.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Towns, Noel, Nets

April 16th, 2015 at 7:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Paul Pierce fired some shots across the Nets‘ bow the other day with his negative comments regarding his year spent in Brooklyn. Current Nets coach Lionel Hollins, who was not with the team during Pierce’s tenure, dismissed the veteran’s barbs, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily writes. “I don’t really care,” Hollins said. “I wasn’t here. I don’t care. All I can go by is how we are this year, and as I’ve said many many times, the vocal leader of our team early on was Kevin Garnett, and since he’s left it’s been more of a collective. Paul Pierce is entitled to his own opinion. I don’t get into that kind of stuff. Players say stuff all the time. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t. But they’re entitled to it.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Brett Brown said that rookies Jerami Grant and JaKarr Sampson were both “keepers,” Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link). Both players are signed for next season to minimum salary arrangements, though Sampson’s pact is non-guaranteed.
The Knicks are now assured of having no lower than the fifth pick in this year’s NBA draft. Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal profiles prospect Karl-Anthony Towns, and what he would bring to New York. Towns is currently the No.1 ranked prospect by both ESPN.com and DraftExpress.
The Knicks are expected to remake their roster this offseason and Tim Hardaway Jr. wants to remain a part of what New York is building, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. “I gotta get stronger and faster and hopefully I’m back,” Hardaway said. “I wanna be back.“
Celtics president of Basketball operations Danny Ainge said that Isaiah Thomas was the type of player you had to pounce on when given the opportunity to acquire, the executive told CSNNE.com. Discussing the trade for Thomas, Ainge said, “You never know when you can get a deal like that again and you can’t sit around and wait for a player like Thomas.“
Ainge also referred to this year’s NBA draft as “mediocre,” and is unsure if he will keep Boston’s draft picks or look to trade them away.
On of the biggest contributions Nerlens Noel brought to the Sixers this season was his energy and hustle, something that Philly’s coaching staff has taken notice of, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report writes.

Atlantic Notes: Noel, Nets, Thomas

April 11th, 2015 at 2:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nerlens Noel’s rookie season with the Sixers has not established whether he will be in the team’s long-term plans, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. While he has shown offensive improvement by recording double-doubles in 11 of his last 22 games, Noel is shooting just 29% from the field on attempts more than three feet from the basket, Ford points out. Noel has yet to prove he can play power forward and mesh with Joel Embiid, who can only play center, Ford adds. The deadline trade of Michael Carter-Williams shows that Philadelphia is capable of shifting gears despite management claims that Noel is a major building block, Ford concludes.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Robert Covington‘s scoring ability may have earned him a role with the Sixers next season, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Covington is slated to make approximately $2MM over the next two seasons but the money is not guaranteed. His long-range shooting ability, which creates space for big men Noel and Embiid, may convince the Sixers to keep him around, Pompey opines. “You need people to stretch the floor,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said to Pompey.
The Nets will need to continue paying the luxury tax to remain competitive and majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to do that, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. The Nets are approximately $11.6MM over the tax line this season and could exceed it again if Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young exercise their player options and the club retains restricted free agent Mirza Teletovic, Bontemps continues. Lacking a first-round pick in 2016, the Nets don’t have the option of selling off assets to remain competitive, Bontemps adds. Prokhorov has shown a willingness to spend whatever is necessary to have a contender and vowed to continue that strategy, according to Bontemps. “If we need to pay a little bit more than any other teams, it’s not an obstacle,” Prokhorov said during a press conference this week.
Isaiah Thomas has significantly improved the Celtics’ pick-and-roll offense and given them a reliable fourth-quarter option, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. Using Synergy Sports Data, Forsberg points out that Thomas ranks in the 93rd percentile among all NBA players as a pick-and-roll ballhandler while the Celtics ranked 28th in that category before the Thomas acquisition. Thomas had also scored a larger percentage of his points in the fourth quarter than any player who has scored at least 800 points, Forsberg continues while using Elias Sports Bureau data. Boston’s offensive rating is significantly better with Thomas on the court and that tends to outweigh his defensive shortcomings, Forsberg adds.

Atlantic Notes: Bradley, Thomas, Ish Smith

March 31st, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Multiple executives from other teams around the league are impressed with all of the trades that the Celtics have made the last two years, but there’s no grand design behind it, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe.

“We don’t have any master plan,” Ainge says. “You just hope you have the assets when a deal comes along.”

Ainge pledges an active run in free agency this summer, though he believes some of the team’s existing players could grow into the sort of star-level performers who usually are among the top three players on a contender, as Lowe details. The Celtics love Marcus Smart, last year’s No. 6 overall pick, Lowe writes, and while multiple teams offered expiring deals and picks toward the back end of the first round for Avery Bradley, Ainge turned them away, several league sources tell Lowe. There’s more on the Celtics amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics think Isaiah Thomas is a better asset to trade than the protected 2016 first-round pick from Cleveland that they gave up to get him from the Suns at the deadline, according to Lowe. The C’s talked about waiting to do the Thomas deal to avoid winning too many games down the stretch this year, but decided against that, with Ainge informing coach Brad Stevens, whom he normally keeps in the loop, of the deal just an hour before it happened, as Lowe examines. “Ideally, he might have been someone you pick up in the summer,” Ainge said. “But someone else might trade for him. You might be in a bidding war. You have to move while the iron is hot.”
Nerlens Noel on Monday called Ish Smith “the first real point guard I’ve ever played with” and expressed a desire that Smith, a free agent at season’s end, return to the Sixers, notes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Of course, Noel spent the first half of the season with reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams at the point. In any case, Noel’s development has taken off since Smith arrived shortly after the deadline trade that sent Carter-Williams out, notes Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News, who refers to the big man’s growth as the team’s most important mission this season.
Marc Berman of the New York Post wonders just what the Knicks‘ D-League coaching change Monday means for the future of assistant GM Allan Houston, once seemingly a GM-in-training. Houston’s duties with the NBA team had already been curtailed under Phil Jackson, Berman writes.

And-Ones: Mudiay, Thomas, Orton

March 26th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Goran Dragic was a bit shocked that the Suns dealt his former teammate Isaiah Thomas to the Celtics at this season’s trade deadline, Ben Rohrbach of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “If I’m honest, I was a little bit surprised, especially because I asked for the trade,” said Dragic. “But that’s how the NBA goes. It’s a business. Unfortunately, we had three point guards at the same position and only one ball, so it’s kind of hard to satisfy everybody.”

Presumably, Dragic was talking about his request that the Suns trade him, as they ultimately did when they sent him to the Heat, rather than suggesting that he asked the Suns to trade Thomas, though that’s not entirely clear. Here’s more from around the league:

Metta World Peace‘s deal for the remainder of the season with Italy’s Pallacanestro Cantù is worth approximately $40K plus bonuses, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports.
Projected 2015 lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay has parted ways with agent Raymond Brothers, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports (Twitter link). The guard will now be represented by Jason Martin and Dwon Clifton of Rival Sports Group, Givony adds. Mudiay is currently the No. 3 ranked prospect according to DraftExpress and ESPN.com.
Daniel Orton, who appeared in 22 contest for the Sixers during the 2013/14 campaign, doesn’t look back at his time in Philadelphia fondly, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Orton discussed what it was like to go from the Thunder organization to the Sixers’, saying, “Leaving the Thunder, you see the greater side of the NBA. I went into Philly and a situation where it was the total opposite. You got a team just trying to rebuild basically from scratch and blowing up anytime you had something going good. So you definitely learn the business side of it.” Orton has played in China and the Philippines this season after attending training camp with the Wizards.

Atlantic Notes: Brown, Jackson, Thomas

March 25th, 2015 at 4:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers coach Brett Brown won’t stop pushing his team to improve, regardless of how it affects Philly’s chances of snagging the top pick in this year’s draft, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. “I don’t know how to coach anymore if that becomes part of it all,” Brown said. “I really don’t. You can’t cheat the game. I get it and I understand it. I just don’t even know how to do my job, otherwise. We go about our business. I can’t walk into the locker room and do anything else for those guys. They want to play hard. They want to compete. Whatever ends up happening, ends up happening. I’m proud of the way we play every night. What we may lack in resumes and birth certificates and all of that, we make up for with big spirit and tremendous team camaraderie, despite what our win/loss record says. This is a spirited group and one that I love coaching.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

While the Sixers still need an upgrade at the point, Ish Smith has shown enough promise that he should factor into the team’s plans for next season, Cooney adds. “He has a clear upside,” Brown said of Smith. “I think that because of his style of shooting – he’s a set-shooter – I can see how he can improve with repetition and encouragement and all those types of things in the next short period of time. Then you have the constant qualities that he’s a hell of a teammate, he’s an athlete, he’s highly competitive. Although he’s been around a lot, it’s not like he’s got a lot of miles on his legs. He really hasn’t played a lot, but he’s been around a lot. For all those reasons, I just feel like his upside is clear.”
Phil Jackson was hired as Knicks team president to restore faith in the franchise, something he has failed to do during his tenure thus far, Justin Terranova of The New York Post writes. Jackson has fallen in ESPN Insider’s Front Office rankings from the No. 21 spot to the 29th, with only Nets GM Billy King below him.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looks at the effect that Isaiah Thomas will have on the Celtics‘ lineup and playoff chances now that he’s set to return from his injury.

Suns Notes: Trades, Thomas, Knight, Dragic

March 24th, 2015 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

Most executives from other teams around the league said they wouldn’t have given up Isaiah Thomas and the Lakers’ protected first-rounder for what the Suns acquired in return at the deadline, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. Phoenix ended up with Brandon Knight, Marcus Thornton and Cleveland’s 2016 top-10 protected first-round pick, as our trade deadline recap shows.

“Everybody loves the L.A. pick,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough told Lowe. “The concept of a pick is great, but it’s more of a sure thing to get a 23-year-old who is a borderline All-Star in the East.”

That 23-year-old is Knight, the soon-to-be restricted free agent whom the Bucks declined to trade straight-up for the Lakers pick, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com first reported and as Lowe reiterates. There are conflicting reports about whether Milwaukee turned down a Knight-for-Goran Dragic offer from the Suns, but several league sources tell Lowe that the Bucks indeed rejected such an offer. Lowe and others have plenty more from Phoenix:

Suns coach Jeff Hornacek insisted to Lowe that the idea behind collecting Dragic, Thomas and Eric Bledsoe on the same roster before the season was to afford all three of them rest so they’d be fresh for the playoffs, as Lowe relays in the same piece.
The Suns won’t spend money for the sake of spending it in free agency this summer, McDonough tells Lowe, who nonetheless believes it’s imperative that the Suns make the most of the additional cap flexibility that their deadline deals created.
Steve Nash‘s retirement underscores just how well the Suns made out in the 2012 sign-and-trade that sent him to the Lakers, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines. Knight is the primary asset that the Suns snagged thanks to what they gained in the deal, Coro points out, though president of basketball operations Lon Babby believes there was a subtle cost that lingers. “It was among the most difficult, if not the most difficult, decisions we’ve had to make since I’ve been here…” Babby said of letting Nash go. “We made the right decision. I’m just disappointed it didn’t work out better for [Nash]. He defined our culture. To be honest about it, when you assess a trade like that, we gave up intangibles that we’re still trying to replace.”