JaVale McGee Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Multiple Teams Interested In JaVale McGee

March 6th, 2015 at 10:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:06pm: Teams that are still interested in signing McGee also include the Rockets, Raptors, and Heat, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

FRIDAY, 8:48pm: The Mavericks are still interested in McGee, but other teams that could offer the big man more playing time could be more appealing, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas is unable to offer McGee more than a minimum salary contract for the remainder of the season, Sefko adds.

11:48am: There’s “no way” the Raptors would cross the $76.829MM tax line to sign McGee in spite of GM Masai Ujiri‘s affection for him, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. The Raptors have a team salary for tax purposes of $76.096MM, as I pointed out earlier. A prorated minimum-salary contract until season’s end for McGee would only cost the team $231,503 if he signed today, after he clears waivers at 4pm Central time, so presumably the club can still bring him in and avoid the tax. So it follows that the Raptors won’t engage in a bidding war, Wolstat adds (on Twitter). However, the Raptors may be closer to the tax line than it appears based on incentive clauses in player contracts, which aren’t always fully reported.

WEDNESDAY, 10:10am: The Raptors are thinking about pursuing McGee, Stein tweets.

5:27pm: The Warriors have expressed major interest in McGee, and view him as an insurance policy for Andrew Bogut, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 3:59pm: The Mavericks are “seriously interested” in JaVale McGee, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com, but the sense is he won’t rush to choose a team should he clear waivers as expected on Wednesday, Stein adds (Twitter links). Plenty of other teams are interested, Stein notes, echoing a Monday report from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports indicating that no less than 10 teams are in the mix. It’s nonetheless somewhat surprising to see Dallas emerge as one of them, since the Mavs earlier today committed their final open roster spot to a contract through season’s end Bernard James.

The teams that are in the mix for McGee reportedly envision him as a third-string center and won’t offer the big man more than the league minimum to sign. The Heat are among those interested in the oft-injured veteran, Stein tweets. While the remainder of the teams considering making a run at McGee are not yet known, the Wizards are not one of them, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post notes.

The 27-year-old appeared in just seven contests for the Sixers after being acquired from Denver, averaging 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per contest. In 382 career games McGee has averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. His career slash line is .540/.200/.587.

Western Notes: Green, Johnson, Hamilton

March 5th, 2015 at 7:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Grizzlies going on a 13-2 run after acquiring Jeff Green from the Celtics the forward has been a mild disappointment so far in Memphis, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (subscription required) writes. Herrington cites Green sinking multiple three-pointers in a game only once in February, and the starting lineup with Green in it being 12 points worse offensively, per 100 possessions, than when Tony Allen was the starter.

Here’s more from the Western conference:

The Rockets are sending Nick Johnson down to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Johnson will likely rejoin the Rockets in Portland on Wednesday, he adds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was coy when asked if Golden State had interest in signing free agent big man JaVale McGee, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group relays. Kerr did say that he didn’t want anything or anyone to disrupt the team’s excellent chemistry, Kawakami adds.
Justin Hamilton, whom the Wolves claimed off of waivers from the Pelicans, has been on Minnesota’s radar for some time Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets. The Wolves tried to work out a trade with Miami for the big man before he was dealt to New Orleans, Krawczynski adds.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

No Deal Between Celtics, JaVale McGee

March 5th, 2015 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

2:47pm: Things are dead between the Celtics and McGee and talks will not be revived, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).

2:23pm: In addition to previously mentioned suitors like the Warriors, Mavs, Raptors, and Heat, Wojnarowski writes that the Spurs and Bulls also have expressed interest in McGee.

2:10pm: The Raptors are one of several teams that plan on circling back to McGee, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Toronto GM Masai Ujiri is familiar with McGee from their time together in Denver.

1:42pm: Multiple playoff teams remain interested in McGee, Wojnarowski tweets. He doesn’t want to give up his freedom for next season, however, and he wants a player option for 2015/16 in his contract.

Most contenders called on McGee, Wojnarowski adds (link). It’s easier to list the playoff teams that haven’t called on McGee, Wojnarowski tweets, and that includes the Clippers, Thunder, and Cavs.

1:20pm: There will be no deal between the Celtics and McGee after all, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (on Twitter). The two sides ultimately could not reach agreement on a contract.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears that the C’s wanted a team option for the 2015/16 season while McGee’s camp was pushing for a player option.

8:32am: Team president Danny Ainge confirmed that Boston is on the verge of signing McGee, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Ainge told Toucher and Rich of The Sports Hub that he’s optimistic about what McGee can bring to the table, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI (on Twitter). “He hasn’t lived up to his potential yet, and we’re hoping that he can under Brad Stevens. We think he’s in a good place,” Ainge said.

8:30am: The Celtics are close to signing JaVale McGee, multiple sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal would take the big man through next season.

Multiple teams expressed interest in McGee after he was waived by the Sixers, but we haven’t heard much of the Celtics’ potential interest in him. The Mavericks were said to be “seriously interested,” the Warriors expressed serious interest, and the Raptors were weighing things, though they were skittish about crossing the $76.829MM tax line.

If and when McGee joins the Celtics, he’ll be putting on his third uniform of the season and, in fact, his third jersey in about a month. The Nuggets shipped McGee to the Sixers in a deadline deal and rumors of a potential buyout started swirling almost immediately. Both sides denied that they wanted to hammer out a buyout of his contract ($11.25MM in 2014/15 and $12MM in 2015/16), but those talks eventually took place. A buyout wasn’t agreed upon, but just prior to the deadline for playoff eligibility the Sixers waived McGee.

McGee, a B.J. Armstrong client, has averaged 8.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG across seven seasons. He played in six games for Philly, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 10.2 minutes per contest.

While the Celtics were never named specifically as a team with interest in the 27-year-old, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported earlier this week that a third of the league was eyeing McGee.

And-Ones: Thomas, Mudiay, Nets

March 2nd, 2015 at 6:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Thomas was stunned when the Suns dealt him right before the trade deadline but he wasn’t surprised the Celtics wanted him, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports. Thomas, who has three years and approximately $19.76MM remaining on his contract after this season, expected Goran Dragic to be traded but thought he’d remain with the club that acquired him in a sign-and-trade deal with the Kings last summer, according to Kennedy’s story. Boston’s Danny Ainge was the first GM to contact Thomas when the free agency period began in July and had been intrigued by Thomas’ skills since Thomas was a college prospect, Thomas told Kennedy. Thomas, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday, is excited about his role with the Celtics and hopes to remain with the team in the long term, Kennedy adds.

In other news around the league:

Marquee draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay is once more playing with China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers months after it appeared his overseas stint was at an end, as Nick Bedard of Basketball Buddha notes. Mudiay is the No. 2 ranked prospect in Eddie Scarito’s Hoops Rumors Prospect Power Rankings, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him third and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has the point guard fourth.
Mirza Teletovic, a restricted free agent after the season, wants to remain with the Nets, Alex Raskin of the Wall Street Journal tweets. Teletovic is out for the season after he was diagnosed with multiple blood clots in his lungs in January. Teletovic was averaging 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 40 games this season before the diagnosis.
The Hawks recalled Mike Muscala from the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced on Monday, Muscala, who appeared in six games with the Mad Ants, is averaging 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 20 games with Atlanta this season and gives the club some frontcourt depth.
The Sixers wanted to give JaVale McGee an opportunity to finish out the season with a playoff team, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said to Mannix it was “the right thing to do.” Several playoff teams are interested in McGee, who was acquired by the Sixers in a trade last month.

Eastern Notes: McGee, Pistons, Wittman

March 2nd, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

A third of the league is showing interest in JaVale McGee, whom the Sixers waived late Sunday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Most of those 10 teams are playoff contenders, Spears adds, though their identities remain shrouded in mystery. The Clippers don’t appear to be one of them, as Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times hears they’re “not very” interested in the 27-year-old center (Twitter link). The teams that are in the mix for him envision him as a third-string center and wouldn’t shell out more than the minimum, a league source told John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com. There’s more from Gonzalez on McGee’s Sixers tenure amid the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers were reluctant to waive McGee immediately after trading for him last month because they wanted to have a first-hand look to see if they would come away with a more positive impression of him than other teams have, a league source told Gonzalez for the same piece.
The Pistons recalled Quincy Miller from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). He averaged 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in just 19.7 minutes per contest during two games on his D-League stint, which began Friday. That was the day Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he and his staff were leaning toward re-signing him to a second 10-day contract, notes Dave Pemberton of the Oakland Press (on Twitter). Today is the final day of his first 10-day pact.
There’s increasing pressure on Randy Wittman and others involved with the Wizards amid the team’s slump, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes in his weekly power rankings. Still, Wittman is in no immediate jeopardy, Stein cautions, and the team isn’t thinking about a coaching change, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote this weekend.
Lou Amundson hopes his stay with the Knicks will be “somewhat permanent,” in the words of Fred Kerber of the New York Post, who examines the positive effect the midseason addition has had. The pact he signed with New York after inking a pair of 10-day contracts runs only through the end of the season.

Sixers Waive JaVale McGee

March 2nd, 2015 at 11:25am CST by Zachary Links

11:25am: The move is official, the team announced, adding in its statement that McGee hit waivers before the end of Sunday, so he is indeed playoff-eligible for other teams.

MONDAY, 7:48am: There’s still been no official announcement from the Sixers, though presumably the move indeed took place late Sunday, since otherwise McGee would be ineligible to appear in the playoffs for another team.

SUNDAY, 11:02pm: The Sixers will waive JaVale McGee, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports. Any player waived by the end of March 1st can still compete in the postseason with another team, so McGee should attract interest from winning clubs.

Earlier today, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reported that a buyout for McGee would be contingent on him finding a suitor if he were to hit free agency. No buyout was reached, but the Sixers have decided to let him go even though it appears that they won’t be saving any money in the transaction. McGee is owed $11.2MM for this season, and $12MM next season. They could spread next season’s salary through 2017/18 with $4MM payments each year using the stretch provision, but it’s unclear if they intend to do that.

McGee, a B.J. Armstrong client, has averaged 8.4 PPG and 5.5 RPG per game in seven seasons. He played in six games for Philly, averaging 3.0 PPG and 2.2 RPG in 10.2 minutes per contest.

The 27-year-old was acquired last month in a deadline-day deal from the Nuggets along with the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick and the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol.

Over the weekend, Sixers coach Brett Brown defended McGee’s performance and had kind words to say about his locker room presence. In the past, some have been critical of McGee’s attitude.

“He’s kind of maligned in some ways to me where, you know, people view him in a certain way. He’s been a great teammate,” Brown said. “It’s not like I’m starting him. It’s not like I’m giving him 25 minutes. I can’t ask for any more in regards to how he’s fit in, and how he’s just been extremely receptive and coachable.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

JaVale McGee, Sixers Discuss Buyout

March 1st, 2015 at 6:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:29pm: McGee threw the idea of a buyout into question as he spoke before this evening’s game, saying he preferred to remain with Philadelphia, as Pompey relays in a full story. “I hope it’s false,” McGee said of Stein’s report. “But you never know, though. You hear stories all the time. I didn’t hear anything about coming to Philly. So you never know.” In any case, a buyout is unlikely, a source tells Stein, who hears that while McGee’s reps continue to talk with the team, a buyout is contingent upon the center’s camp identifying a suitor for him if he were to hit free agency (Twitter links). However, the B.J. Armstrong client cast doubt on the idea that anyone is gauging interest from other teams for him.

“Not on my part, it’s not true,” McGee said, according to Pompey. “They might be talking to somebody. But the people I talked to, I haven’t [heard anything]. And I know nothing about it.”

12:23pm: The Sixers and center JaVale McGee are having buyout discussions with an important deadline looming at midnight, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN. Players must hit waivers by midnight today to be eligible for this year’s playoffs with their new teams.

McGee was acquired last month in a deadline-day deal from the Nuggets along with the Thunder’s 2015 first-round pick and the rights to Nigerian forward Chu Chu Maduabum in exchange for the rights to Cenk Akyol.

Sixers coach Brett Brown defended McGee’s performance in Philadelphia, according to a series of tweets by Keith Pompey of The Inquirer. “He’s kind of maligned in some ways to me where, you know, people view him in a certain way. He’s been a great teammate,” Brown said (Twitter link). “It’s not like I’m starting him. It’s not like I’m giving him 25 minutes. (Twitter link). I can’t ask for any more in regards to how he’s fit in, and how he’s just been extremely receptive and coachable.” (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: McGee, ‘Melo, Thomas, Brown

February 23rd, 2015 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers don’t want a buyout with JaVale McGee, and he doesn’t want one either, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, coach Brett Brown indicated that the center has to prove his worth.

“We are coming into this whole thing with an open mind,” Brown said. “He is around a bunch of genuine people, coaches that care. That will give him every chance to keep moving and to be as good as he can be. And if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But it’s not going to be on us.”

McGee, who’s making $23.25MM combined this year and next, has four points and five rebounds in 24 total minutes across two games with the Sixers so far. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

The reason that Phil Jackson estimates that Carmelo Anthony will be out of action for four to six months instead of the eight-week timetable Anthony mentioned previously is because of a partial tear in Anthony’s left patellar tendon, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks star played with that tear most of the season, according to Berman.
The first call Danny Ainge placed to a free agent this past July was to Isaiah Thomas, Ainge told reporters, including Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Of course, the Celtics lost out on Thomas this summer but wound up with him via Thursday’s trade with the Suns.
Lionel Hollins has consistently expressed enthusiasm about rookie Markel Brown in spite of his lack of playing time for the Nets, but now injuries to others and a stylistic shift have Brown seeing more minutes, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines. The shooting guard drafted 44th overall this past June is without guaranteed salary for next season.

Hinkie On: Carter-Williams, McGee, Draft

February 20th, 2015 at 11:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers GM Sam Hinkie spoke with reporters on Friday about the trades he has made this season, and what they mean to his franchise moving forward. The entire press conference was transcribed by John Smallwood of The Philadelphia Daily News, and here are some of the highlights.

When asked about taking on salaries to acquire draft picks, Hinkie said:

“One of the ways we are trying to build our team is to try and transact with other teams and to try to help other teams to solve their problems. That’s exactly the kind of deal we’ve been out looking at and been transacting throughout the year, which is ways in which we might use our cap space to help other teams and ways they might help us with our future. After much back and forth, we agreed to take JaVale McGee if they would include the Oklahoma City pick.“

On trading Michael Carter-Williams:

“Michael kind exploded on his introduction into the NBA with that steal and dunk to start against Miami. From that moment, people have called and assumed we might move him and assumed that maybe they could get their hands on him. We said the same thing every time – we’re not interested in moving him. We like him. The only way we would ever move him was if someone blew us away. We rejected offer after offer over the last year or more, but something came along that we think is really interesting and really scarce, which was that pick from the Lakers. Those picks do not move around very much. It is almost impossible to get your hands on a pick that at least has a chance to be a high lottery pick. In the end, that made us decide it was the right thing to do to move our program forward.”

When asked why a conditional draft pick was worth more than a former Rookie of the Year, Hinkie responded:

“It is how you think about uncertainty. Do you think about uncertainty as scary and something to be afraid of? Or do you think try to look at it as, where are the opportunities there to make our team better? It’s not about Michael at all. I think Michael has a very bright future is this league. It is still necessary for someone to look at the tough decisions we have to make to move our program forward. Michael did nothing wrong. It is possible for two things to be really valuable – both Michael and something else.”

On which of the possible three protected first-round picks the team owns that Hinkie expects to have available for the 2015 draft:

“Gut feeling, my guess is the Lakers pick is very unlikely to convey this year, for a whole host of reasons. The Oklahoma City pick , I would give it loosely 30/70 odds of conveying this year. I think it’s much more likely to convey next year. I think the Miami pick is increasingly likely to convey this year.“

Sixers Notes: McGee, Carter-Williams, Hinkie

February 20th, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers haven’t decided on what the future holds for newly acquired big man JaVale McGee, Tom Moore of Calkins Media writes (Twitter link). Speaking about McGee, GM Sam Hinkie said, “We’ll see what happens. He may have a fresh start here but he was moved in large part because of the pick.” Philadelphia received the Thunder’s 2015 first-round draft pick in the trade.

Here’s more out of Philadelphia:

Hinkie indicated that the Sixers had not been actively looking to deal Michael Carter-Williams, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. “The only way we would ever move him was if someone blew us away … and something came along,” Hinkie said. The the Sixers garnered the Lakers’ top-5 protected 2015 first round pick in the deal for MCW.
The Sixers’ personnel strategy is focused on having options, Pompey writes in a separate article. When asked if he cared more about acquiring assets than developing players, Hinkie said, “I believe a lot in optionality – a lot. I believe a lot in flexible. I believe a lot in making a decision as late as you possibly can to gain as much information as you can.”
The GM spoke further on the decision to deal Carter-Williams, saying, “He only left here because there was a way to move our program forward,” Hinkie said. “Not for any other reason, and he did nothing wrong. It is possible for two things to be really valuable, both Michael and something else,” Pompey relays.
Hinkie has proven once again that he’ll trade any player if a team meets his asking price, Moore writes in a separate piece. If the Sixers didn’t believe Carter-Williams was a player who they could build around, the trade was a smart move, Moore opines. But the team continually dealing younger players away for future picks is just delaying the rebuilding process even further, Moore adds.
The Sixers’ front office needs for Joel Embiid to develop into a very good player and a number of their acquired draft picks to turn into stars, Rich Hofmann of The Philadelphia Daily News writes. After the last two seasons of perceived tanking, the Sixers’ fan base will turn on the team if Hinkie’s rebuilding plan fails, Hofmann adds.