Jahlil Okafor Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: J.R. Smith, Sixers, Knicks

July 22nd, 2016 at 5:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Making J.R. Smith a competitive offer might not be a bad idea for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com argues. Boston could use another shooter and Smith made 40% of his 3-point attempts with the Cavaliers last season, Forsberg points out. The Celtics could renounce their rights to Tyler Zeller and craft a one-year deal somewhere in the ballpark of the $15MM that Smith is seeking. Smith opted out of the final year of his contract in June, though Cleveland still holds his Bird rights. The Celtics could weaken their chief Eastern Conference rival by signing Smith to a short-term contract while not sacrificing any of their future flexibility, Forsberg adds.

In other developments around the Eastern Conference:

Bryan Colangelo’s overt attempts to trade either Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor has backfired, Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. The Sixers’ GM should have taken a more low-key approach and now has undermined his ability to trade either big man, Sielski continues. Both young players know that Colangelo is shopping them, and while it makes sense to now keep them into the regular season to improve their trade value, that might lead to discord in the locker room, Sielski adds.
The Knicks are one of three teams pursuing point guard Chasson Randle, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Randle, who went undrafted in 2015, made a favorable impression on the Knicks’ brass while playing for their summer-league team. He could be New York’s No. 3 point guard behind Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings but the club is out of cap space and can only offer the rookie minimum of $565K, Berman adds.
Combo guard Tomas Satoransky expects to go through a significant adjustment period when he joins the Wizards this season, Gene Wang of the Washington Post reports. The 2012 draft-and-stash prospect officially joined Washington Thursday on a three-year, $9MM deal. “The game is quicker,” Satoransky told Wang and other media members during a conference call. “For sure, it’s better athleticism in the NBA than what I’m used to Europe, so I’ll have to adjust as soon as possible for that.” Satoransky could emerge as John Wall‘s primary backup at point guard, Wang adds.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Ginobili, Okafor, Celtics

July 22nd, 2016 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

As Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported last week, the Sixers aggressively pursued Manu Ginobili in free agency earlier this month, making him a contract offer that would have guaranteed him $16MM+ in year one, forcing the Spurs to significantly increase their own offer. As Ginobili tells Michael Lee of The Vertical, he didn’t simply talk to the 76ers as a negotiating ploy, since the presence of head coach Brett Brown intrigued him.

“It was not my main option. I never wanted to leave San Antonio,” Ginobili said. “But I had to listen to all the options that are there. … The fact that (the Sixers) had a great coach and a person I appreciate so much as Brett Brown, made it more appealing in the case the Spurs didn’t happen. But the Spurs happened and they always had the priority.”

As we ponder the possibility of what it looked like to see Ginobili wearing a 76ers uniform next season, here are a few more notes out of the Atlantic:

Expectations for the new-look Knicks are high, Derrick Rose admits in a conversation with Lang Whitaker of NBA.com. Curiously, the veteran point guard believes his team is viewed in NBA circles as a top-tier contender alongside the Warriors, telling Whitaker, “They’re saying us and Golden State are the super teams.”
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer explains why it wouldn’t make a ton of sense for the Sixers to trade Jahlil Okafor to the Celtics, writing that Boston has concerns about possible character issues. As Pompey outlines, the C’s typically minimize risk by avoiding investing heavily in players with off-court question marks — as such, the 76ers would have a hard time extracting fair value in a trade.
On Thursday, we passed along some comments Jae Crowder made about the Celtics‘ failed pursuit of Kevin Durant. That wasn’t the only subject Crowder weighed in on during his conversation with Tom Westerholm of MassLive.com, however. The Boston forward also talked about the Eastern Conference outlook – the Cavaliers are the only team he’s worried about – and the team’s recruitment of Al Horford. As Crowder noted, Horford was also drawing interest from the Wizards as the C’s pursued him. “We beat them four times this year,” Crowder said of Washington. “You don’t want to go there.”

Atlantic Notes: Waiters, Zeller, Lin, Marks

July 20th, 2016 at 5:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The off-court incidents the Sixers suffered through with Jahlil Okafor last season may make them less likely to pursue Dion Waiters, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Waiters became an unrestricted free agent Monday when the Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer. While it make might make sense for the South Philadelphia native to join a team like the Sixers that needs backcourt help, some in the organization reportedly see Waiters as a potential behavioral problem and don’t want his outspoken personality to affect the team’s younger players. However, a league source tells Pompey that the Sixers have talked to Waiters and negotiations could resume. The Nets and Lakers are also seen as options because of the amount of cap space they have remaining.

There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics are leaving themselves the maximum amount of flexibility as they work to pull off a major deal, writes Kevin O’Connor of CSNNE. None of the draft picks has been signed, O’Connor notes, and nothing has been done with Tyler Zeller, who is a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer last month. The Celtics can withdraw that $3.7MM offer any time before Saturday if they need more cap space. If a team submits an offer sheet to Zeller before then, Boston can match, but O’Connor writes that there are only seven teams left with enough cap room to make an enticing offer, and most of them are already set at center. A sign-and-trade deal involving Zeller is possible if the Celtics find the right trade.
Jeremy Lin compares joining the Nets with investing in a “startup company,” tweets Andy Vasquez of The Record. “I’m betting on certain people,” Lin said. “I’m betting on [coach] Kenny [Atkinson]. I’m betting on [GM] Sean [Marks]. I’m betting on myself. I’m betting on Brook [Lopez]. I’m betting on the way I feel. If I didn’t feel like this has the chance to go where I want it to go, then I wouldn’t have signed up for it.”
The Nets have a little more than $20MM in remaining cap room, but Marks calls reaching the spending floor “the least of my concerns,” Vasquez relays (Twitter link). The new GM prefers to enter the season with cap flexibility.

Celtics Notes: Ainge, Okafor, Trades

July 19th, 2016 at 6:29pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are eager to make a deal, but other teams simply are not looking to swap top players for prospects and draft picks, A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet writes. “You win with players, not picks,” an anonymous assistant GM told Blakely. “Boston has lots of picks and some good players. But there’s not a great player on that roster. And the players you [media] guys keep writing and talking about that they’re interested in, are great players. [Danny Ainge] will tell you, it’s not easy making trades. And when it comes to great players, it’s even harder to acquire them no matter how many picks you offer up.”

Here’s more from Boston:

The consensus around the league is that if the Celtics can make a big deal, it will be for Jahlil Okafor, as Blakely passes along in the same piece. “From the moment Philly drafted Ben [Simmons], everyone around the league knew that they would have to trade a big, either Okafor or Nerlens [Noel],” an NBA scout told Blakely. “Okafor is the better scorer; it’s not even close really. But Nerlens has that ability to run the floor and can protect the rim. Those two qualities . . . you can’t have enough guys in the frontcourt who call those two skills, strengths. That’s why Okafor is the more expendable player.”
Another executive told Blakely that Ainge is waiting for an opportunity to snag a player whom no one thought would be available. “I have no idea who that big fish is,” the executive said. “But Danny knows there have to be certain circumstances in play that make guys available who wouldn’t be if you just went by talent. That’s how they got Ray Allen. That’s how they got KG (Kevin Garnett). Even Isaiah Thomas a couple years ago was about circumstance more than anything else. He’s looking for something like that now.”
While the Celtics are looking to acquire another star via trade, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com wonders if the next prime-time player is already on the roster. Forsberg makes the argument that Marcus Smart will elevate his game to an All-Star level next season and the scribe expects Smart to take on much of Evan Turner‘s previous role now that the Ohio State product has signed with Portland.

Eastern Notes: Okafor, Simmons, Millsap, Young

July 17th, 2016 at 10:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Life in the NBA hasn’t been what Jahlil Okafor expected, but he tells Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he wants to change that, and he hopes to do it with the Sixers. Okafor’s rookie season was plagued by off-court incidents and injuries that limited him to 53 games. He has spent the offseason listening to trade rumors, along with talk that his style of play doesn’t fit the modern NBA game. “[The trade talk] is definitely all stupid with a lot of speculation,” Okafor said. “I see where people will write what I’m feeling and I haven’t even spoken to them. A lot of stuff is made up and it’s annoying. But for the most part, it’s fine. For me, at a certain point, I got upset when another story came out that said we were upset with the team and that just wasn’t the case. But I’m just looking forward to the season now.” Okafor is still rehabbing from surgery in February to repair a torn meniscus, but he hopes to be cleared for five-on-five play soon.

There’s more news out of the Eastern Conference:

After getting his first taste of the NBA during summer league, Ben Simmons plans to work on “everything” before training camp, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The No. 1 pick played six summer league games, averaging 10.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. But there were concerns about his turnover rate — 3.8 per game — and a habit of standing around when he didn’t have the ball. “It’s just everyday education,” said Sixers summer league coach Lloyd Pierce. “It’s just learning the NBA, basic timing, position, execution. I can throw out every basketball term in the book. He’s just got to learn the game.”
The Magic should take another shot at Hawks power forward Paul Millsap next summer, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando talked to Millsap in 2015 before he decided to re-sign with Atlanta, and with a player option for 2017/18, he might be a free agent again in 12 months. Millsap tops a list of potential 2017 free agent targets Schmitz listed for the Magic. Others mentioned are Gordon Hayward, J.J. Redick, Jeff Teague and Kyle Lowry.
Whispers about James Young‘s commitment to the game continue to haunt him as he battles for a roster spot with the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Young came into the league with people doubting his work ethic, and now there are concerns that he hasn’t developed as much as he should. “I’ve seen that for 35 years in the NBA,” said president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who wasn’t specifically talking about Young. “They don’t understand the urgency. They feel like they’ve made it, and they don’t understand that staying in the NBA should be their objective and not just making it here.”

Sixers Notes: Hinkie, Simmons, Saric, Brown

July 17th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The often-ridiculed “Process” is playing out in Philadelphia just the way former GM Sam Hinkie envisioned, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Hinkie, who resigned in April, suffered through three years of losing but left the team with a large collection of draft picks and young players who have a chance to turn around the Sixers’ fortunes quickly. Two pieces of Hinkie’s plan fell into place recently when Dario Saric left his Turkish team to sign with Philadelphia and Joel Embiid, a 2014 draft pick who has yet to play in the NBA because of injuries, was medially cleared to begin five-on-five basketball. “You have to give a lot of credit to Sam Hinkie for the recent developments that have happened,” coach Brett Brown said. “I will also say that [team president] Bryan Colangelo has done two things in my eyes. He’s jumped into this in a very selfless way and giving credit where credit is due in relation to Sam.”

There’s more this morning out of Philadelphia:

No. 1 pick Ben Simmons says the Sixers are a “perfect” team for him, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. Simmons has known new teammates Embiid and Jahlil Okafor since high school and thinks it will be easy to develop chemistry with them. Both players traveled to Las Vegas to cheer on the Summer League team, which gave the franchise its first look at Simmons in a Sixers uniform. “We are just going to develop him as we have done with everybody else,” said Summer League coach Lloyd Pierce. “We are going to take our time, be very patient with his growth and try not to give him too much. There are a lot of expectations on him already, but we are going to be very diligent with him and give him an opportunity to grow.”
Saric was surprised by the greeting he received Thursday when his flight landed in Philadelphia and a group of fans and media members met him at the airport, writes Brian Seltzer of NBA.com. Sixers fans have been waiting two years to get a glimpse of Saric after the team acquired his rights in a 2014 draft day deal with Orlando. Saric exercised his buyout clause with Anadolu Efes in Turkey and signed with Philadelphia on Friday. “I didn’t know that people would say welcome to me that way,” Saric said of his greeting. “I’m happy because the city is happy that I’m here.”
Brown sees Simmons and Saric as similar players and says it will be up to the coaching staff to blend their talents together, Pompey notes in a separate story. “They are two really good players,” Brown said. “So how this plays out, how we take shape, I think this a good challenge, and one that we are excited to learn more about.”

Celtics Notes: Okafor, Griffin, Yabusele

July 16th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would still like to add one more big piece and he will make one of the Brooklyn’s picks available for the right player, a source tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “Danny will make it available in the right situation, but he’s not going to give it up with core players, too,” the source told Bulpett. “That’s going to be a good draft, and that’s going to be a high pick.”

Executives within the league believe Ainge will end up making a significant trade with one rival GM telling Bulpett that Jahlil Okafor may best fit on the trade market. “I still wouldn’t be surprised if something happened [with the Celtics and Okafor],” the anonymous GM said.

Here’s more from Boston:

There is still no traction between the Celtics and Clippers for a deal that would send Blake Griffin to Boston, Bulpett adds in the same piece. Furthermore, a source tells Bulpett that teams are having concerns over Griffin’s health. “I still think there’s a concern with his leg,” an opposing team executive told Bulpett. “We looked into him, and we’re hearing that’s a pretty serious thing. I’m not saying you don’t go after him, but you’d better be really sure about that leg before you go making any big commitments.”
The Celtics were willing to offer the No.3 overall pick and one player from their rotation, but the Bulls wanted two players and Ainge wasn’t willing to make that deal, a source tells Bulpett in that same piece.
Whether or not No.16 overall pick Guerschon Yabusele will play overseas is dependent upon the Celtics making a trade and opening up a roster spot, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter links). Yabusele could play overseas during the 2016/17 campaign even if there is a trade, Himmelsback adds.
James Young is on the Celtics‘ roster bubble, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. “I think James is doing fine, but we have a lot of decisions to make,” Ainge said. “A lot is dependent on what deals we’re able to do or not do, like do we sign or not sign another free agent?”
Out of all the Celtics whom participated in summer league, Young made the weakest case for a roster spot, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com contends.

Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Westbrook, C’s, Nets

July 13th, 2016 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to SiriusXM NBA Radio (SoundCloud link) in Las Vegas, Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo acknowledged that his team’s roster is “top-heavy,” with a logjam of young talent at the center position. Although Colangelo said the Sixers like Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and Jahlil Okafor, he suggested, half-jokingly, that he’s “absolutely not” comfortable heading into the season with all three still on the roster.

“What we are comfortable doing is saying we’re not going to make a bad deal just to make a deal,” the Sixers GM said. “I think we could be a better basketball team if we could distribute that talent better, and maybe take one of those assets and address other needs on the roster. But I think right now, it’s best to say we like all of them [and] we want to see if we can make the most out of each of them in terms of their contributions to this team. At the end of the day, the reality says one probably has to go at some point — but only when the deal is right.”

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic division:

Although there’s no indication yet that the Thunder are exploring a Russell Westbrook trade, rival general managers think GM Sam Presti will do so sooner rather than later if he suspects that Westbrook is leaning toward leaving as a free agent next summer, says Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Beck, many of those rival GMs believe that the Celtics are the most likely landing spot for Westbrook if Oklahoma City does pursue a trade.
Having missed out on a pair of RFA targets, the Nets are currently mulling making an offer to another RFA, Dion Waiters, as we heard over the weekend. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, Brooklyn has also displayed interest in Terrence Jones, Jordan Hill, and Maurice Harkless.
Nets general manager Sean Marks, who acknowledged that his team is in the market for wing players, also said that he’s in no rush to meet the salary floor, as Lewis details. “At some point we have to get there,” Marks said. “But it’s not immediate right now. We’re not just going to go out and spend for the sake of spending. It’s about us doing the right things at the right times.”
Celtics first-rounder Ante Zizic is headed back to Cibona Zagreb, his team in Croatia, tweets international basketball journalist David Pick. Boston GM Danny Ainge had previously confirmed that Zizic, who reportedly received some interest from other European clubs, would remain overseas for the 2016/17 season.

Atlantic Notes: Sullinger, Okafor, Knicks

July 11th, 2016 at 6:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Raptors got themselves a bargain in ex-Celtics power forward Jared Sullinger, even though he’s not an ideal fit, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun opines. Sullinger agreed to a one-year deal with Toronto on Monday after Boston renounced his rights. He’s not an ideal partner for either Jonas Valanciunas or Jakob Poeltl because of his lack of foot speed but he’ll contribute with his rebounding and low-post game, Wolstat continues. Sullinger will be motivated to have a productive season in order to get a big payday next summer, Wolstat adds, noting that approach worked last season for Bismack Biyombo.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Sixers big man Jahlil Okafor denied via his Twitter account that he’s angry that they shopped him this offseason, according to CSNNE.com report. Okafor responded to a story by Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times that he and his handlers were upset that Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo listened to offers for the second-year power forward. Okafor called the story “fraudulent” and declared that “I love where I am.” The Celtics, who made a big free-agent splash by signing Al Horford, could still try to deal for Okafor this summer, CSNNE.com adds.
Celtics guard Terry Rozier has positioned himself for more playing time with his postseason play and summer-league performances, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Rozier could help fill the void left by Evan Turner, who agreed to a four-year deal with the Trail Blazers, and even take some minutes from starting point guard Isaiah Thomas, Blakely adds. The 6’2” Rozier averaged 1.8 points in 39 regular-season games as a rookie, then averaged 4.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.8 minutes during the playoffs.
Expectations of a Knicks playoff run are tempered by health issues, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York’s offseason acquisitions of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Brandon Jennings improved its outlook but all have been hampered by major injuries in recent years, Berman notes. Team president Phil Jackson doesn’t dispute that injury concerns are the team’s biggest issue, Berman adds.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Fernandez, Raps, Knicks

July 6th, 2016 at 10:33am CST by Luke Adams

Although they weren’t able to make a trade on draft night, the Celtics are still open to dealing if teams are willing to meet their asking price, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. According to Bulpett, there are indications that the C’s may still be able to do business with teams like the Sixers and Bulls, for trade candidates like Jahlil Okafor and Jimmy Butler. But it will be much trickier for Boston to make a deal now than it was on draft night, since Philadelphia and Chicago likely would’ve wanted to get the No. 3 overall selection to nab Kris Dunn, rather than Jaylen Brown.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic division:

There were whispers this week linking the Sixers to Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, but the former NBA veteran isn’t going anywhere at this point. As detailed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Fernandez says he’s always open to offers, but for now he plans to stick with Real Madrid for the remaining two years of his contract, rather than returning to the NBA.
Outside of their big, new contract agreement with DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors have been fairly quiet so far in July. However, as Doug Smith of The Toronto Star observes, GM Masai Ujiri and the Raptors did a big chunk of their 2016 spending in 2015, when they secured Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross to extensions. If the team had waited to lock up Valanciunas and Ross, they’d be restricted free agents, and would likely be in line for much bigger deals than the ones they signed last fall.
Frank Isola of The New York Daily News wonders if the Knicks will get back into the conversation for a top-tier free agent – such as Russell Westbrook – in 2017 if Phil Jackson‘s moves this summer pay off and result in a strong 2016/17 season. We asked you yesterday to make predictions for the Knicks’ forthcoming season.