Jae Crowder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Lowry, Crowder, Yurtseven, Jovic

August 3rd, 2022 at 6:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry still won’t reveal the specifics of the family situation that caused him to miss nine games in January and February, and he tells Doug Smith of The Toronto Star that it hasn’t been fully resolved. Lowry said the issue continued to be a distraction even after he resumed playing.

“It’s definitely something that kind of derailed my whole season and kept me derailed for a long time,” Lowry said. “Still to this day, it’s still something I deal with every single day, I actually got a phone call just now about it. It’s life, life happens and you just have to continue to get better and focus on the things you can control and try to help as best you can because at the end of the day, I can’t do this or that, all I can do is go to people who can help me and hopefully I can help them and we can kind of work together and collaborate.”

Lowry was in Toronto today to take part in the Nick Nurse Foundation golf tournament. Even though he chose to leave the Raptors in free agency last summer, Lowry has remained friendly with his former coach.

“Nick’s a friend of mine and we got closer and closer and as the years went on we trusted each other more and more,” Lowry said. “To keep a relationship with a guy like him, obviously I’m here for a reason, he’s such a great man, he’s helped me in my career tremendously and all I can do is try to give back as much to him as he’s given to me.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Miami would be interested in bringing back versatile forward Jae Crowder, but there’s no easy way to match salaries in a trade with the Suns, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Crowder, who is entering the final year of his contract, raised some eyebrows this week when he tweeted, “Change is inevitable.. Growth is optional.!! I believe its time for a change… I wanna continue growing!” Although Crowder doesn’t specify that he’s talking about basketball, the message has led to speculation that he wants to play somewhere else.
Omer Yurtseven will have to improve defensively to earn regular playing time, per Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Winderman adds that the Heat view Yurtseven as a backup to starting center Bam Adebayo, but he’ll have to compete with Dewayne Dedmon for those minutes.
First-round pick Nikola Jovic won’t play for the Serbian national team in the World Cup qualifier or EuroBasket, according to Winderman (Twitter link). Jovic will focus on preparing for Miami’s training camp, which starts in late September. Yurtseven is also expected to bypass international competitions with Turkey (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: James, Anthony, Howard, Crowder

August 2nd, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bronny James will be eligible for the draft in 2024, and LeBron James‘ desire to play with his son could affect his decision regarding an extension, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains. James, who could be an unrestricted free agent after next season, can sign a two-year, $98MM extension with the Lakers this offseason.

The easiest way for LeBron and Bronny to play together is for LeBron to be a member of the team that drafts Bronny. The Lakers will likely have to commit to doing what it takes to draft his son in order for an extension to be reached. Vardon, noting that L.A. doesn’t currently control its 2024 first-round pick, suggests that the team may have to consider a trade bringing in a ’24 first-rounder, even though Bronny doesn’t currently project as a first-round prospect.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Many veteran players who saw action for the Lakers last season are still unsigned. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin takes a look at those players, including Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley and Dwight Howard, and explores which teams might have an interest in them.
A tweet from the Suns’ Jae Crowder created a stir, Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic notes. Crowder wrote “Change is inevitable.. Growth is optional.!! I believe its time for a change… I wanna continue growing!” That fueled speculation that he wants to be traded. Crowder is entering his walk year and has been the subject of trade rumors, particularly involving one of his former teams, the Heat. The Suns are above the tax line and might look to shed some salary.
In case you missed it, Steve Kerr and Draymond Green played instrumental roles in convincing JaMychal Green to sign with the Warriors. Get the details here.

Fischer’s Latest: Durant, Warriors, Heat, Barrett, Herro, Suns

July 19th, 2022 at 7:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Although some reports have mentioned the Warriors as a possible suitor for Nets star Kevin Durant, Golden State doesn’t appear to have made “serious overtures” for the two-time Finals MVP, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. While Fischer hints that the two teams have at least talked, he says little traction has been generated.

The Heat, meanwhile, continue to focus on acquiring either Durant or Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell before moving on to other business. Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell Fischer that Miami is prioritizing Durant over Mitchell.

Here’s more from Fischer:

Knicks personnel have projected confidence that they’ll be able to acquire Mitchell without including RJ Barrett in their offer, according to Fischer, who hears from sources that the Jazz may not be eager to give Barrett a lucrative long-term extension anyway.
While both Barrett and Tyler Herro are considered candidates for maximum-salary rookie scale extensions, Fischer says NBA executives believe the Heat guard is a better bet than the Knicks forward to sign a new deal this offseason (rather than in 2023 free agency). “They always seem to pay their guys,” one assistant GM said of the Heat.
According to Fischer, league personnel continue to classify Suns forwards Jae Crowder and Dario Saric as potential trade candidates. Both players are on expiring contracts for a Phoenix club whose team salary is now well above the tax line.

Heat Rumors: Tucker, Portis, Lowry, Crowder

June 30th, 2022 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

Heat players are reportedly lobbying free agent forward P.J. Tucker to remain with the team, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who says All-Star wing Jimmy Butler, in particular, is “very much hoping” Tucker returns to Miami.

However, James Harden‘s decision to opt out of a $47MM+ salary for next season and likely sign a new deal starting at a lower number is the latest indication that the Sixers are a serious threat to lure Tucker to Philadelphia. Harden’s move clears a path for Philadelphia to offer its full mid-level exception to Tucker.

If Tucker does leave, the Heat will be in the market for a power forward, and T.J. Warren, Kyle Anderson, Thaddeus Young, and Nicolas Batum will be among the free agents on their radar, Jackson writes. A Wednesday report indicated the club would likely also have interest in Danilo Gallinari if he’s waived after being traded by San Antonio.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Jackson hears from a source that Miami would be a team that appeals to Bobby Portis if he decides to leave Milwaukee. But Portis is considered likely to stick with the Bucks, while the Heat are reluctant to hard-cap themselves for the season by giving their full mid-level exception to a free agent, so it’s an unlikely match.
Jackson also hears that Kyle Lowry wasn’t upset by Pat Riley‘s end-of-season comments about how his conditioning must improve. The Heat have assured Lowry they have no intention of trading him in a deal for Kyrie Irving, Jackson adds.
After saying that the Heat had emerged as the frontrunners to trade for Suns forward Jae Crowder, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links) walked back that report. As Gambadoro explains, he can’t see Phoenix taking on Duncan Robinson‘s contract, and the Heat don’t have any other obvious salary-matching pieces they’d include in an offer for Crowder.

Heat Rumors: Herro, Crowder, Warren, Cap Situation

June 29th, 2022 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

“Early indications” are that a potential Tyler Herro extension with the Heat this offseason would land in the range of $25MM per year, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Herro will become eligible for a rookie scale extension when the NBA’s 2022/23 league year begins later this week. He boosted his stock during the regular season by averaging 20.7 points per game and making a career-high 39.9% of his three-point attempts, but a mediocre playoff run (12.9 PPG with a .229 3PT%) clouded his value entering the summer.

The Heat and Herro are under no obligation to reach an extension this offseason, but doing so would keep him off the restricted free agent market in 2023. Typically, rookie scale extensions worth less than the maximum aren’t agreed to at or near the start of free agency, so the team and the 22-year-old may take a few weeks or months to negotiate a new deal. The extension deadline is the day before the ’22/23 season begins.

Here’s more on the Heat:

If the Heat can’t retain P.J. Tucker in free agency, they’ll consider attempting to trade for Suns forward Jae Crowder or potentially signing free agent forward T.J. Warren, a source tells Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman stresses that those would be fallback options for the team, which is willing to offer Tucker three fully guaranteed years. Crowder played in Miami briefly in 2019/20 before leaving for Phoenix in free agency.
In a separate story for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman explores how the Heat’s reluctance to impose a hard cap on themselves this offseason may impact their roster moves. It would mean the bi-annual exception can’t be used on a player like Caleb Martin and would mean the Heat’s best offer for P.J. Tucker would start at $8.4MM (via the Non-Bird exception) rather than $10.35MM (the full mid-level).
In case you missed it, a report earlier today suggested that Victor Oladipo is considered likely to leave the Heat in free agency.

Suns Rumors: Crowder, Ayton, Draft, Johnson, Batum

June 23rd, 2022 at 6:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns have made calls to rival teams in an effort to gauge Jae Crowder‘s value on the trade market, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Crowder, who will turn 32 in July, will earn $10.18MM in 2022/23 before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer. The veteran forward has played his usual three-and-D role in Phoenix for the last two seasons, averaging 9.7 PPG and 5.0 RPG with a .369 3PT% in 127 games (27.8 MPG) during that time. He would likely have positive value as a trade chip, though he wouldn’t command a massive return.

Fischer also reports that Suns officials have been conveying to teams and “other external league personnel” that they’re open to matching a maximum-salary offer sheet for Deandre Ayton, despite persistent rumors that they’d prefer not to pay him the max (including a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Wednesday).

Rival suitors interested in Ayton will have to determine whether they believe the Suns would match a max offer sheet — if they do, negotiating a sign-and-trade deal would be the most logical path to getting the former No. 1 overall pick out of Phoenix.

Here’s more on the Suns:

Phoenix is believed to be in the market for a second-round pick in today’s draft, according to Fischer.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 throws cold water on some recent rumors related to the Suns, reporting (via Twitter) that Phoenix has no interest in trading Cameron Johnson in a deal for the No. 8 overall pick and adding (via Twitter) that he also doesn’t expect the team to have serious interest in free agent forward Nicolas Batum or Knicks wing Cam Reddish.
In a fascinating Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Kevin Arnovitz takes a look at how differently the Suns approach scouting and the draft compared to other NBA teams. According to Arnovitz, Phoenix hasn’t even completed a draft board ranking prospects for the past three years. “Our draft board would be a mockery to other teams,” senior analyst of personnel and team evaluation Zach Amundson told ESPN. “By the time we were done, we had only five to seven guys on our draft board.”
As Arnovitz outlines, the Suns’ unorthodox evaluation strategy played a part in their decision to draft Johnson 11th overall in 2019 after trading down from No. 6. At the time, the pick was widely panned and considered a reach. “We were prepared to take him sixth if we had to,” VP of basketball strategy and evaluation Ryan Resch told ESPN.

Pacific Notes: Johnson, Kings, Atkinson, Lakers

June 7th, 2022 at 10:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After suffering a frustrating seven-game Western Conference Semifinals loss to the Mavericks, the Suns face some key rotation decisions during a 2022 offseason that arrived earlier than expected. One of those decisions involves Cameron Johnson, eligible for his rookie contract extension this summer. Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic examines whether or not it would behoove Phoenix to extend Johnson this year, and whether he should be moved into the team’s starting rotation for the start of the 2022/23 season.

Johnson, the No. 11 pick out of North Carolina in 2020, proved to be a key contributor off the bench for the Suns during the team’s 64-18 season. He averaged a career-high 12.5 PPG on .460/.425/.860 shooting from the floor, while chipping in a career-best 4.1 RPG, 1.5 APG and 0.9 SPG. Johnson also was the first player promoted to a starting role when All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker missed three postseason games due to a hamstring injury.

Rankin predicts that Johnson could earn between $15-20MM annually on an extension, and points to the fact that the Suns reached rookie extension agreements with two of its three most important extension-eligible young players during the 2021 offseason. Jae Crowder started ahead of Johnson at power forward in his 80 games of regular season availability, but as he embarks on the last season of the three-year, $30MM contract he inked with the Suns in 2020, Rankin wonders if a Johnson extension would eventually necessitate the younger player’s move into the starting five over Crowder.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Kings, who have not made the playoffs since 2006, are believed to be on the hunt for a “win-now player” using their lottery pick, league sources inform Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Sacramento owns the fourth pick in this year’s draft, and could either draft an NBA-ready player or use the selection in a trade to acquire a veteran who could grow with the team’s current core.
Thanks to successive seasons as an assistant coach with the Clippers and now the Warriors, former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson has joined the ranks of top assistants vying for head coaching vacancies once again, as Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com writes. Atkinson was in the running late to become the new Lakers head coach, and is a major contender to be the prime shot-caller for the Hornets. “It’s a great experience being considered (for head coaching jobs), but, man, I’m in such a great place — not only from basketball, but from a living in California, the Bay Area, the whole thing,” Atkinson said of his current gig as a Golden State assistant under head coach Steve Kerr. “So it almost takes the pressure off when you’re really in a good situation. I mean, I’m still competitive, and I try to do my best in interviewing and everything, but also in the back of my mind I’m saying, like, man, if I don’t get another shot, I’m in a great, great situation.”
The Lakers, who may need to replace as many as seven now-free agent players from its 2021/22 roster, got an in-person look at several free agents on Tuesday, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). McMenamin reports that free agents Alize Johnson, Langston Galloway, Kyle Guy, Louis King and D.J. Wilson were in attendance for a workout.

Mavericks Notes: Game 7, Ntilikina, Kidd, Crowder

May 15th, 2022 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks were relaxed at Saturday’s practice ahead of tonight’s Game 7 in Phoenix, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Coach Jason Kidd, who had plenty of experience with pivotal playoff games during his playing career, is urging his team to enjoy the opportunity and “stay in character” the way it has done all season.

In NBA history, road teams only have a 23.2% success rate in seventh games, and the challenge is particularly daunting for Dallas, which has lost all three games of the series in Phoenix and was destroyed by 30 points in Game 5. But the Mavs are optimistic after responding with a dominant performance of their own Thursday night.

“It’s an emotional lift for us,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Obviously Phoenix was the best team in the league in the regular season. Obviously they’re at home, hostile environment. But you know, they also say a Game 7 typically goes to the best player and I believe we have that in this series. It’s going to be an exciting clash of styles.”

There’s more from Dallas:

Frank Ntilikina missed the Mavericks’ first-round series with Utah following a tonsillectomy, but he has been an important contributor against Phoenix, notes Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News. Ntilikina was barely used by the Knicks in last year’s playoffs and had a disappointing four-year run in New York. He’s thankful to get a second chance with Dallas, which signed him in September without requiring him to work out. “Definitely it was stress and tension back then,” Ntilikina said, referring to his time with the Knicks. “But I stayed with it like every player should do and stayed confident in my work. Now I’m just glad to be here preparing for a Game 7, preparing for [Sunday].”
Kidd wasn’t with the Mavericks when they lost Game 7 to the Clippers last season, but he believes being in that environment will benefit them today, Carlton states in the same story. “Guys who participated in it understand what it means so you don’t have to explain what Game 7 means,” Kidd said. “It’s about us executing the game plan and giving us a chance.”
Suns forward Jae Crowder has strong memories of his first Game 7, which happened when he played for the Mavericks in 2014, Carlton adds. “Yeah, I had a lot of vets on my team. I had Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki,” Crowder said. “Those guys just talked about the atmosphere, how it was going to be enhanced, how much emotion was going to be in the game. Still, whatever they told me wasn’t enough. It didn’t put in what’s at stake and the emotions behind it. Obviously going through it helped me a lot.”

Pacific Notes: Suns, Ayton, Crowder, Lakers, Toscano-Anderson

February 1st, 2022 at 9:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The 40-9 Suns currently sport the best record in the NBA, thanks in large part to the All-Star performances of guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker, as well as terrific play from center Deandre Ayton, small forward Mikal Bridges, and a revamped roster with additional depth. John Hollinger of The Athletic reflects on the team’s season thus far and considers some trade possibilities for Phoenix in an extensive new article.

Hollinger wonders if the Suns may look to improve their reserve guard slots behind Paul and Booker. He floats the possibility of offloading trade packages including intriguing young center Jalen Smith, injured big man Frank Kaminsky and a future first-round pick in exchange for veteran shooting guards like Norman Powell or Eric Gordon.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Suns center Deandre Ayton and power forward Jae Crowder are returning from injuries to suit up for Phoenix tonight against the Nets, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Ayton has been sidelined for seven straight games with an ankle injury, while Crowder has been grappling with a mild wrist injury for the past four contests.
The 24-27 Lakers have not enjoyed the level of success they expected after making an all-in trade for point guard Russell Westbrook during the summer of 2021. Bobby Marks of ESPN outlines exactly how difficult it will be for Los Angeles to make significant roster changes by the trade deadline this season. L.A. is currently just the ninth seed in the Western Conference, thanks in part to various injuries incurred by All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis throughout the season so far. Marks cites Westbrook’s exorbitant contract (he is owed $91.3MM across these next two seasons, an All-Star salary for sub-All-Star production), the Lakers’ lack of future draft picks, and the team’s lackluster depth as factors for what he anticipates to be a relatively quiet deadline.
Athletic third-year Warriors swingman Juan Toscano-Anderson will take part in the 2022 Slam Dunk Contest at this season’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link).

Injury Updates: Payne, Crowder, Ayton, Gobert, Bogdanovic, LaVine

January 24th, 2022 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Suns will be without one of their key rotation players for at least a couple weeks. Cameron Payne will be reevaluated in two weeks after suffering a sprained right wrist, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. The reserve guard suffered the injury on Saturday against Indiana.

Payne is averaging 10.5 PPG and 3.6 APG as Chris Paul‘s backup. Elfrid Payton will likely absorb some of his minutes and Devin Booker will see more action at the point.

Jae Crowder (wrist) and Deandre Ayton (ankle) also missed Monday’s game against Utah but are considered day-to-day. Ayton has missed four consecutive games due to a right ankle sprain suffered at Detroit on January 16.

We have more injury updates:

Jazz center Rudy Gobert suffered a left calf strain in the late going against Golden State on Sunday, according to Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “I tried to play through it. But I could feel I wasn’t moving right and I didn’t want to make it worse,” he said. Gobert missed Monday’s game against Phoenix but the strain is considered mild and he isn’t expected to be sidelined for an extended period, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
The Jazz‘s Bojan Bogdanovic has a left finger avulsion fracture but can continue to play with it, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The injury, which occurred against Houston last week, is a ligament that has been pulled off the bone. He can’t bend it and will require a splint for the next four-to-six weeks. Bogdanovic also didn’t play on Monday.
Bulls star guard Zach LaVine returned to action on Monday after a five-game absence, James Collier of ESPN writes. LaVine was sidelined with a left knee injury. He had not played since exiting in the first quarter on January 14 against the Warriors after feeling soreness in his left knee.