Jae Crowder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Notes: Ayton, Williams, Sale Price, Crowder, Preseason Loss

October 4th, 2022 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns center Deandre Ayton raised a lot of eyebrows when he said at the start of training camp that he hadn’t spoken to Monty Williams since the team’s playoff flameout last season. The Suns coach calls it a non-issue, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets in a video clip.

“I coach him hard every day in practice,” Williams said. “You see he’s here getting his work in and that’s what we expect of our guys. … We don’t need to air anything out. That’s my point. I’m not going to keep addressing that. He’s the player, I’m the coach.”

We have more on the Suns:

Joe Tsai bought the Nets for an NBA-record $2.35 billion in 2019 and an investment banker that spoke with ESPN’s Baxter Holmes believes the Suns will sell for higher price. Suspended owner Robert Sarver has begun the process of selling the team. Some of the factors that could drive up the price include the warm-weather climate and proximity to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Bay Area, as well as the team’s new practice facility and renovated arena. In recent days, Suns executive VP and CFO Jim Pitman relayed to team employees that a fully executed sale of the team could take 6-9 months, Holmes adds.
Experts that spoke to Marc Stein said the Suns’ sale price could reach the $4 billion threshold, he reports in a Substack post. That’s potentially 10 times the $401MM purchase price that Sarver’s ownership group paid in April 2004.
A source told Stein over the weekend that the trade chatter regarding the Suns’ Jae Crowder being swapped for the Cavaliers’ Cedi Osman isn’t much more than that. Crowder is sitting out training camp while awaiting a trade.
The Suns lost an exhibition game to the Adelaide 36ers and Rankin notes that the team lacked energy and enthusiasm. The defense was especially poor, as it surrendered 134 points.

Stein’s Latest: Celtics, Vogel, Stotts, Crowder, Bogdanovic, Lakers

September 30th, 2022 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Having failed to lure Clippers assistant Jay Larranaga back to Boston, the Celtics remain on the lookout for a veteran assistant who could help guide newly promoted Joe Mazzulla through his first season as an NBA head coach, as we relayed on Thursday.

According to Marc Stein at Substack, two veteran head coaches are among the potential candidates on the Celtics’ radar — the team has shown interest in Frank Vogel and Terry Stotts. However, Boston is pessimistic about its chances of being able to hire either Vogel or Stotts as an assistant to an unproven head coach, Stein writes.

Stein’s latest round-up of notes and rumors from around the NBA includes a few other interesting tidbits:

The divide between Jae Crowder and the Suns began when the veteran forward let the team know he was seeking a contract extension, according to Stein, who says the Suns essentially responded by telling the 32-year-old that he was no longer a lock to start or finish games ahead of Cameron Johnson. Crowder remains away from the team as Phoenix attempts to find a suitable trade.
Bojan Bogdanovic is another veteran forward in his 30s who is looking for a new deal as he enters a contract year. Stein suggests that Bogdanovic’s desire for a multiyear extension may have cooled his trade market a little, dissuading some potential suitors from pushing harder for him. Presumably, Bogdanovic is seeking more years and/or dollars than teams would have been comfortable offering, and those clubs weren’t prepared to surrender valuable assets for a one-year rental. The Pistons ultimately acquired the 33-year-old from Utah for Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, and cash.
As has been reported ad nauseam, the Lakers would only be willing to surrender their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks in a trade that significantly boosts their championship odds. According to Stein, that same principle applies to the team’s 2023 salary cap flexibility — the Lakers would be open to reducing or eliminating their ’23 cap space by taking on future salary if the deal makes them a legitimate title contender.

Texas Notes: Wood, Crowder, Collins, Green

September 29th, 2022 at 10:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Mavericks‘ plan to start JaVale McGee at center and utilize his fellow five Christian Wood off the bench may test the limits of the team culture second-year head coach Jason Kidd has been cultivating in Dallas, writes Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. So far though, Wood appears willing to play whatever role is asked of him.

“I’m not really worried about who starts the game, more so who’s finishing the game,” Wood said on Monday, addressing a potential reserve role in Dallas. “If people were asking, ‘How would he feel coming off the bench?’ I’m not worried. It’s something that most likely will happen in talks with extensions and talks with free agency, but during the season, it’s not going to get me off my pivot.”

Wood enjoyed a typically productive 2021/22 season on a lottery-bound Rockets team. He averaged 17.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 BPG and 0.8 SPG in 68 games. He also connected on 39% of a high-volume 4.9 three-point attempts.

Meanwhile, during Kidd’s first season as head coach last year, the Mavericks secured a 52-30 record and returned to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2011, when Kidd was the team’s starting point guard.

Ahead of the 2022 draft, Houston flipped Wood to the Mavericks. In return, the Rockets received several veteran role players, but the highlight of the deal was Dallas’ No. 26 first-round draft pick, which Houston then traded to the Timberwolves in exchange for the No. 29 pick and two future second-rounders.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Though Suns power forward Jae Crowder appears to be headed for a divorce with Phoenix, the Mavericks are not interested in trading for the veteran stretch four, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix. Crowder served as the starting power forward for consecutive Finals teams from 2020-21, first with the Heat and then for Phoenix. In 67 contests last season, the 6’6″ vet averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.9 APG and 1.4 SPG, while connecting on 34.8% of his 5.4 triples a night and 78.9% of his 1.3 looks at the charity stripe.
Spurs power forward Zach Collins, kicking off a new NBA season healthy at last, is excited to show what he can do this year in San Antonio, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “I don’t think you guys have seen the best of me yet,” Collins said. “Definitely the best I’ve felt physically in my career.” The 6’11” big man missed most of the 2021/22 season while recovering from an ankle injury. In 28 games, he averaged 7.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG on .490/.341/.800 shooting splits.
Second-year Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft out of the G League Ignite, is a devout workaholic, according to his trainer Mike Hill. Kelly Iko of The Athletic spoke with Hill about how Green approached the second half of his rookie season and his preparations for 2022/23. Among other areas, the duo worked on improving Green’s strength, ball handling, and pick-and-roll abilities.

Suns Notes: Ayton, Williams, Crowder, Johnson, Landale

September 29th, 2022 at 4:12pm CST by Rory Maher

It’s up to head coach Monty Williams to ease the apparent tension between Deandre Ayton and the Suns, argues Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports. In addition to being involved in trade rumors for Kevin Durant, Ayton was forced to find a maximimum-salary deal from a rival team — he signed an offer sheet with the Pacers, which the Suns quickly matched.

Ayton said he hadn’t spoken to Williams since Phoenix’s Game 7 blowout loss to Dallas in the second round of last season’s playoffs, when he had a disagreement with Williams after being pulled early. Williams downplayed the severity of not speaking to Ayton over the offseason, but it was an awkward way to spend Media Day, Bourguet writes.

That’s not to say everything is on Williams, since the speculation and business side of things were out of his control, but there’s still no excuse for him to not speak to his young starting center who clearly hasn’t gotten over the incident, according to Bourguet, who calls Williams’ lack of one-on-one communication with Ayton “cruelly intentional at worst and a miscalculation that needs to be promptly amended at best.”

There’s still time for Williams to resolve the situation with Ayton before it impacts the season, says Bourguet.

Here’s more on the Suns:

Williams would prefer the Suns to move Jae Crowder before their regular season tips off on October 19, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “We’ve done a decent job of acclimating guys into the program and that’s a credit to the coaches, but also the players that help guys along once we get new people in here,” Williams said. “I’m not so much worried about the timeline. Ideally, you’d like to get someone in here before opening night, but I like the group we have.”
Cameron Johnson will be Phoenix’s new starting power forward, Williams confirmed to reporters (Twitter link via Rankin). The coach spoke glowingly about Johnson’s game, but mentioned he needs to “draw the line in the sand” when it comes to defense. For his part, Johnson says he needs to “rebound a lot better than I have my first couple years” and defend at a higher level (Twitter links courtesy of Bourguet).
Chris Paul says Jock Landale is making a strong impression in training camp both on and off the court, Bourguet tweets. “Jock’s been a great, not only basketball player, but a good guy to be around,” Paul said. Joe Ingles put Paul in contact with Landale over the summer. The Australian big man’s contract is only guaranteed for $46K in 2022/23.

Central Notes: LeVert, Crowder, Turner, Dosunmu

September 28th, 2022 at 10:06pm CST by Rory Maher

Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland says fellow guard Caris LeVert was never fully healthy after Cleveland acquired him in a deal with Indiana last season, but he’s turning some heads in training camp, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays (via Twitter).

“Caris is on a tear right now. He’s scoring the ball really well, he’s playing both sides of the ball, he’s defending really hard. We just have that attack mentality right now. He’s looking really good,” Garland said.

LeVert has plenty of financial incentive to have a big season in 2022/23. The 28-year-old is extension-eligible as he enters the final season of his $18.8MM contract. He averaged 13.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 3.9 APG on .435/.313/.745 shooting in 19 games (10 starts, 29.8 MPG) with the Cavs in ’21/22.

Here’s more from the Central:

In an article about Cleveland’s roster battle to determine the starting small forward, Joe Vardon of The Athletic suggests the Cavs might have interest in Suns forward Jae Crowder, who is sitting out training camp as Phoenix looks to find a deal for the veteran. Crowder’s first stint in Cleveland (back in ’17/18) did not go well, but the circumstances were rough — his mother had just passed away and his former team (Boston) had just lost to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals the prior season.
Myles Turner‘s days with the Pacers are numbered and they would be wise to move him sooner rather than later, argues Bob Kravitz of The Athletic. Turner has been a consummate professional during his time in Indiana and he deserves credit for the way he’s handled trade rumors over the years, but he’s on an expiring contract, the team is rebuilding, and having him on the roster would prevent younger players from receiving more playing time, Kravitz writes.
Fatigue played a factor in slowing down Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu in the second half of last season, so he was focused on improving his stamina entering year two, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “I want to be able to go up and down four or five times without getting tired. (Wednesday), I think I did a good job with that. I was picking up fullcourt and I really didn’t get tired,” Dosunmu said, referencing practice scrimmages. “With us playing faster and getting out in transition and playing a more open, free game, I would say me not getting tired would be a huge plus for me and the team because I can use my speed, make plays, get downhill and do what I do.”

Central Notes: Crowder, Drummond, Sirvydis, Bitadze, Cavs, Garland

September 27th, 2022 at 6:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks are a potential suitor for Jae Crowder, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast (hat tip to RealGM). Milwaukee is interested in forwards like Crowder who can guard multiple positions. They had some interest in a former Pistons forward, according to Lowe.

“The Bucks were sneakily kind of sniffing around Jerami Grant in Detroit before Portland swooped in,” he said. “I think they like the idea of the switchable, switchable, switchable guys.”

Crowder won’t participate in the Suns training camp as they look to move him.

We have more from the Central Division:

Bulls center Andre Drummond will back up Nikola Vucevic, but Drummond still views himself as a starter, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. The former All-Star signed a two-year, $6.6MM contract with Chicago early in free agency.
A trio of Pacers big men are nursing ankle injuries, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. Deividas Sirvydis will miss some time after injuring his ankle in a pick-up game last week. Center Goga Bitadze is close, but not 100%, due his gimpy ankle, while Jalen Smith is close to full strength. Sirvydis’ ailment could cost him a shot at a roster spot — he signed a non-guaranteed, one-year contract that included Exhibit 10 language.
With the addition of Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers realize that they’re not going to surprise anyone this season, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. “I think people know what we’re capable of now,” forward Kevin Love said. “If we put it together, we aren’t a team that’s really going to surprise anybody anymore. We’ve got some young stars that I think are going to make a lot of noise this year.”
Fresh off signing a five-year extension, Darius Garland is looked upon as the leader of the Cavaliers, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. “He’s a guy that people want to follow, they want to see him be successful, so it’s his opportunity and his responsibility to lead those guys in that way,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.

Pacific Notes: Crowder, Ayton, McNair, Murray, Wall

September 27th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward Jae Crowder was informed over the summer that he might lose his starting job in 2022/23, which prompted him to ask for a trade, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Crowder has been a key member of a Suns team that made the NBA Finals in 2021 and won 64 regular season games last season, but Phoenix appears prepared to grant his trade request, having agreed to have him remain away from the team for training camp.

“Jae brought a number of intangibles to the team, I think all of our guys would speak in that way about him,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said on Monday, per Windhorst. “At the same time, these things happen and you have to transition and move forward. I totally am behind (GM) James (Jones) and how we are handling this.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

According to Windhorst, there seems to be some scarring following the Suns‘ offseason standoff with Deandre Ayton, which ended when the team matched the four-year, maximum-salary offer sheet he signed with Indiana. Windhorst writes that there was a “complete lack of enthusiasm emanating” from the “usually jovial” Ayton during Monday’s Media Day when he discussed his experience in free agency.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Kings general manager Monte McNair expressed confidence in the team’s new-look roster and brushed off questions about his contract situation as he enters the final season of a three-year deal. “Is my deal, like, on the internet or something?” McNair joked, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “Look, for me and my group, we’re excited about what we’ve done. We’re excited that coach (Mike) Brown is in here. I’m the GM right now and I’ve got a bunch of work to do, so I’m going to do that until they kick me out, and I hope I’m here for a long time.”
Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee takes a look at how No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray is dealing with high expectations as he joins a Kings team attempting to snap a 16-year playoff drought.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is looking forward to taking advantage of the element of speed that newly added point guard John Wall will bring to the team this season, writes Helene Elliott of The Los Angeles Times. “I think with John, adding John, his pace is tremendous. That’s going to allow us to get easy baskets,” Lue said. “Guys get open threes, easy shots, him getting downhill, getting to the basket changes our team dramatically. His pace, the way he plays, brings a different dimension to our team.”

Suns Notes: Ayton, Sarver, Williams, Jones, Booker, Crowder

September 26th, 2022 at 7:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Suns center Deandre Ayton said that owner Robert Sarver’s suspension and $10MM fine was much deserved, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes.

“At the end of the day, the actions are unacceptable,” Ayton said. “My thoughts go out to all the people that were affected by his actions.”

Coach Monty Williams and GM James Jones said they were blindsided when the investigation revealed the depth of Sarver’s actions within the organization, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“I was in disbelief,” Williams said. “When you see the bullet points and then when you go through it, um, you start to think about how these things impact the people.”

“I would say just a state of shock,” Jones added. “You don’t want that around the organization. You don’t want that to be the issue.”

We have more on the Suns:

Devin Booker is happy that the Suns matched the Pacers’ offer sheet for Ayton, he told Rankin. “I’m excited for him,” Booker said. “That’s a weight lifted off his shoulders. You understand that this isn’t just basketball. It comes down to business at some point. The only way you can learn and understand those situations is if you’re in them. I think he learned a lot.”
Jae Crowder will sit out camp as the team seeks a trade for the veteran forward. Jones said the situation is a “difficult” one, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. “It’s a team thing for us,” he said. “This is a difficult situation to navigate.”
Where will Crowder wind up? Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tackles that subject and believes the Cavaliers, Sixers and Hornets top the list of potential suitors.
The fact that Sarver announced the franchise is up for sale doesn’t mean that the issues uncovered during the investigation and the backlash the league experienced after revealing its punishment have been erased, Windhorst opines.

Grizzlies Notes: Crowder, Jackson Jr., PF, Clarke, Brooks, Adams, Green

September 26th, 2022 at 3:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies star Ja Morant would like to reunite with former teammate Jae Crowder, who is sitting out training camp as the Suns seek a trade partner for the veteran forward. In reply to Crowder’s tweet about seeking work “where he is wanted..where he is needed,” Morant sent out a “back soon” emoji (Twitter link). In a separate tweet, Morant noted that Crowder hit a game-winning three in overtime to help him get his first NBA win.

Crowder didn’t shoot well in 45 games with Memphis in 2019/20, Morant’s rookie season, but he caught fire with Miami after being dealt away. Crowder has spent the past two seasons with Phoenix after signing a three-year, $29MM deal as a free agent in 2020. He’s making $10.2MM in ’22/23, the final season of his contract.

Here’s more from Memphis:

Starting power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. underwent surgery to repair a right foot stress fracture at the end of June, with the team saying he’d miss four-to-six months at that time. At Monday’s Media Day, executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager Zach Kleiman said that timeline remains accurate. However, Jackson said that while he’s unlikely to suit up for opening night, he believes he’s ahead of the team’s schedule (Twitter links via Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian). Jackson hopes to win Defensive Player of the Year in ’22/23 after coming fifth last season, tweets Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I want it badly,” Jackson said.
With Jackson injured, second-year big man Santi Aldama was the first name to pop up as a possible replacement in the starting lineup from both Kleiman and head coach Taylor Jenkins, but Jenkins said that there are a number of other candidates for the role, including Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, Dillon Brooks, Xavier Tillman, David Roddy and Jake LaRavia, so it sounds like there might be a training camp battle for the job, or even fluctuate depending on matchups (Twitter links from Cole).
Speaking about the contract statuses of Clarke, Brooks and Steven Adams, all of whom are extension-eligible, Kleiman didn’t want to go into specifics of negotiations, but he said the Grizzlies like all three players. “We view them as potential long-term pieces of our group,” Kleiman said, per Cole (via Twitter). Clarke would be a restricted free agent in 2023 if he doesn’t receive an extension, while Brooks and Adams would both be unrestricted. In case you missed, we broke down what an extension for Clarke might look like earlier today.
Despite being injured with a torn ACL, it doesn’t sound like veteran wing Danny Green is in danger of being waived anytime soon. “Danny Green is part of this group,” Kleiman said, adding that Memphis expects Green to return in ’22/23. However, his status as a free agent next summer is “to be determined.” (Twitter link via Cole). Green has a nearly $7MM partial guarantee on his $10MM contract this season, so he could be used as a trade chip for salary-matching purposes, but it also makes it expensive to waive him. If the Grizzlies retain Green, Killian Tillie is probably the odd man out, as the team is facing a roster crunch. Tillie will earn a guaranteed $1.9MM this season.

Jae Crowder To Sit Out Camp As Suns Seek Trade

September 25th, 2022 at 4:47pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

4:47pm: The Suns have confirmed in a press release that Crowder will sit out training camp. Crowder also responded with a brief message on Twitter.

“One must seek work where he is wanted… where he is needed!” Crowder wrote. “I am thankful for what these past two years have taught me. Now, I must take on another challenge with continued hard work and dedication. For those of you who closed the door on me… Thank you! 99 back soon!”

4:00pm: Jae Crowder and the Suns are hoping to find a trade for the veteran forward, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 6’6″ forward will sit out Phoenix’s training camp as he and the Suns explore potential deals, Charania adds.

Fresh off a 2020 NBA Finals run as the Heat’s 3-and-D starting power forward, Crowder inked a three-year, $29.2MM deal with the Suns ahead of the 2020/21 season.

With Phoenix, Crowder made his second straight NBA Finals appearance in 2021 as the team’s starting power forward. Last year, he started all of his 67 healthy games with the club, which finished with a league-leading 64-18 record. For the 2021/22 season, Crowder averaged 9.4 PPG on .399/.348/.789 shooting splits, plus 5.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, and 1.4 SPG.

A deal involving Crowder had been rumored in recent weeks. Earlier this weekend, the 32-year-old tweeted an ominous post declaring that he would be absent from training camp before ultimately deleting the message.

Sharpshooting 6’8″ reserve power forward Cameron Johnson, the No. 11 pick out of North Carolina in 2019, emerged last year as a reliable scoring threat for Phoenix off the bench. The team could be looking to shore up its depth elsewhere in a potential Crowder deal, while elevating the 26-year-old Johnson to a starting role that seemed inevitable sooner rather than later.