Jaylen Brown Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Knox, Pelle, Shumpert, Raptors G League, Walker, Smart

February 1st, 2021 at 5:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kevin Knox‘s playing time has continued to diminish and his future with the Knicks organization is murkier than ever, Marc Berman of the New York Post notes. The 2018 lottery pick never left the bench for the first time this season on Sunday. New York might look to deal Knox or even send him to Orlando to get some floor time with the G League’s Westchester Knicks. Knox’s rookie contract is guaranteed through next season.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets signed Norvel Pelle and Iman Shumpert to non-guaranteed contracts to get up to the league minimum for roster spots but they may not last long, John Hollinger of The Athletic speculates. With luxury tax issues, the Nets might open up those spots again as soon as February 10, then make the necessary additions when 10-day contracts are allowed on February 23. They could continue similar roster maneuvers right up to the March trade deadline, Hollinger adds.
Raptors 905 GM Chad Sanders is awaiting to hear the quarantine protocols regarding the shuttling of players between NBA teams and the G League bubble in Orlando, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Two-way player Jalen Harris is already there but any additional assignments will hinge on those protocols, Murphy adds.
If the Celtics are truly going to contend for Eastern Conference supremacy this season, they’ll need more out of Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart, Mark Medina of USA Today opines. At least one of those guards has to develop into a more consistent threat to help out the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Medina adds. Smart is currently sidelined by a calf strain.

Eastern Notes: Oladipo, Celtics, Heat, Beal, Cavs

January 15th, 2021 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Victor Oladipo turned down a contract extension offer from the Pacers that started at over $25MM, league sources tell former NBA executive Ryan McDonough of Radio.com (Twitter link). NBA rules would have allowed Indiana to go up to a starting salary of $25.2MM on an extension for Oladipo, and it sounds like the team was willing to go that high, based on McDonough’s report.

With Oladipo seeking a more lucrative contract in free agency, where he’ll be eligible for a starting salary worth up to $33.7MM, the Pacers realized they would likely lose him during the summer of 2021, McDonough explains. That’s why Indiana was willing to move him in a deal for Caris LeVert this week. That trade between the Rockets and Pacers – which was separated from the rest of the James Harden blockbuster – isn’t yet official, but should be soon.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

After dealing with a roster shortage for much of the week, the Celtics will have some reinforcements for Friday night’s contest vs. Orlando, their first game since last Friday. Jaylen Brown, Daniel Theis, Semi Ojeleye, and Javonte Green are all out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols and are available tonight, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
With Harden off the market, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald revisits the Heat‘s potential trade options if they want to make a splash before the March 25 deadline. As Jackson has mentioned multiple times in the past, Miami would be very interested in Bradley Beal if the Wizards were to make him available.
The Cavaliers will carry approximately $309K in dead money for Thon Maker after waiving his non-guaranteed contract to accommodate their Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince acquisitions, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Maker was paid about $11.9K per day for 26 days of service.

Latest On The James Harden Trade

January 13th, 2021 at 8:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets were in “deep conversations” with both the Nets and Sixers today regarding a James Harden deal before deciding to accept Brooklyn’s offer, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link). He adds that both teams made “very strong offers,” with Philadelphia willing to give up Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, along with draft compensation.

However, the opportunity to pair Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving prompted the Nets to agree to a package loaded with future draft picks. Houston will receive three first-round selections and four pick swaps from Brooklyn over the next seven years (plus a Bucks first-rounder via Cleveland), with all the picks being unprotected. The deal also cost the Nets Caris LeVert, who was subsequently shipped to Indiana, and Jarrett Allen, who went to Cleveland.

The new Big Three in Brooklyn has been brewing for a while, Charania adds. He says Harden, Irving and Durant met in Los Angeles about a month and a half ago and discussed the possibility of teaming up.

There’s more on today’s blockbuster deal:

Simmons was “pretty ecstatic” that he wasn’t traded to Houston, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Simmons thinks the Sixers are capable of winning a title, and coach Doc Rivers is a huge believer in Simmons’ talent.
Harden knew that trade talks had escalated when he made post-game comments Tuesday night indicating that the situation in Houston couldn’t be fixed, states ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link). Woj adds that the uncertainty surrounding Irving contributed to the Nets’ urgency to get a deal done, and the trade was made with an eye on convincing Durant to re-sign after his current contract expires.
The Celtics weren’t willing to part with Jaylen Brown to obtain Harden, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (video link from NBC Sports Boston). With young stars in Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are on a different timetable than the Nets, Mannix adds.
Because the trade hasn’t been finalized, Nets coach Steve Nash couldn’t comment on it in his pre-game session with reporters, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. However, Nash did discuss the challenge of trying to blend multiple star players. “It’s about trying to be greater than the sum of your parts,” he said. “That doesn’t change, no matter what your team looks like.”
Handing out grades on the deal, Kevin Pelton of ESPN gives the Nets a D, noting that Brooklyn paid a steep price to get Harden and will regress defensively with the loss of Allen. Pelton gives the Rockets an A-minus for finding their way out of a difficult situation and loading up on draft picks, while the Pacers get a B-plus. The Cavaliers get a C, with Pelton questioning the cost (a first-round pick and future salary) for Allen, who will require a significant raise later this year.

Avery Bradley Sidelined By Health And Safety Protocols

January 10th, 2021 at 1:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat guard Avery Bradley is the latest player to be sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Celtics for that reason, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Bradley is expected to miss more games beyond Sunday’s tilt, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.

Last week, Bradley was listed on Heat injury report due to health and safety protocols because of a stomach illness. His new status is related to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.

Bradley departed the Lakers and signed a two-year, $11.6MM contract with Miami in November. Thus far, Bradley is averaging 10.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 22.9 MPG with the Heat. He opted out of last summer’s restart.

The Celtics will be even more shorthanded and might be down to the league’s minimum of eight players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. They have three players listed as out due to COVID-19 protocols and another, star forward Jayson Tatum, listed as doubtful for that reason. Three other players are listed as questionable, including Jaylen Brown, due to those protocols. They also have two injured players on their roster.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Raptors, Brown, Simmons

January 1st, 2021 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors don’t expect Pascal Siakam‘s one-game benching to become an ongoing issue, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN. Coach Nick Nurse elected to hold Siakam out of Thursday’s game after he went straight to the locker room rather than the bench after fouling out with 25.6 seconds remaining Tuesday night.

Nurse called it “a disciplinary thing for an internal matter,” and Siakam accepted the decision, a source tells Lewenberg. Because it wasn’t technically a suspension, Siakam won’t lose any money.

“I don’t think anybody’s happy to see him not play, but that was the decision that came down, so you roll with it,” Fred VanVleet said. “We’re all in this together and everybody makes mistakes. This is something that’s not gonna linger around us. P was great. He was great, he handled it very well, he was a great energy for us on the bench tonight even though he wasn’t playing, and we can’t wait to get him back out there with us.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Backup center Alex Len said there was “definitely tension in the locker room” after the Raptors lost their first three games, which indicates problems that go beyond one incident with Siakam, notes Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Toronto picked up its first win Thursday night after blowing double-digit leads in each of the three losses.
Jaylen Brown is ready to take on a larger role with the Celtics‘ offense after Gordon Hayward‘s departure in free agency, observes Tom Westerholm of Boston.com. “I’m definitely trying to accept the challenge, and I’m excited about this year in general for our group,” said Brown, who had a career-high 42 points Wednesday night. “I think we still have a great group. We have a lot to learn, I have a lot to learn but I think we are all embracing that challenge. Personally, for me, to be in a new and different role with more responsibility, I love and I want to handle that great responsibility to make sure I get other guys involved, all my teammates and try to be the best leader I can possibly be.”
Sixers guard Ben Simmons hit his third career three-pointer Thursday night and is becoming more comfortable with the shot, according to Ky Carlin of Yahoo Sports. “I’ve seen him make it in practice and I know he can knock it down,” said teammate Seth Curry. “Especially from the corner so it’s just a matter of him doing it in a game and stepping into it with confidence. It didn’t look like there was too much hesitation on the shot and I expected it to go in.”

And-Ones: Disney, 2020/21, AD Trade, Community Assist Awards

October 5th, 2020 at 8:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

While appearing on NBA TV last week, league commissioner Adam Silver stressed that, though no player on the league’s restart campus in Orlando has tested positive for COVID-19 since July, the coronavirus remains a danger to the NBA’s remaining Disney World inhabitants.

“Nobody’s tested positive who lives on this campus, but we’ve had positive tests in our vicinity,” Silver said, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). “Every night … I am sort of (braced) for that call to say, ‘We have an issue.'”

There’s more from around the NBA:

In a conversation with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols (video link) prior to last night’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Silver remarked that there’s no set deadline that the 2020/21 regular season must start by. “We love our fans and we want to bring them back into the arenas and we want to do it safely,” Silver said. “And so if there are advancements right on the horizon (related to coronavirus testing or treatment), that will be a reason to wait.”
ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wonders if the blockbuster summer trade that landed Anthony Davis in Los Angeles may wind up ultimately benefiting both the Lakers and their trade partner, the Pelicans. The move gifted the Pelicans with a treasure trove of draft picks, plus 2020 All-Star Brandon Ingram and intriguing young guards Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart. Pelton notes that the Lakers will be in good position to retain the role players that have helped bring Davis and All-Star teammate LeBron James within two games of the Lakers’ 17th NBA title.
The NBA has announced its 2019/20 Community Assistant award winners. All-Star Thunder point guard Chris Paul is joined by Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Bucks point guard George Hill, and Mavericks big man Dwight Powell. The award honors players who have made significant community impacts in the arenas of social justice and COVID-19 help this season. The NBA and Kaiser Permanente will donate $10K to a charity of choice for each of these five players.

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Draft, Brown, Offseason

September 28th, 2020 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics entered the Eastern Conference Finals as slight favorites to beat Miami, but for the third time in four years, Boston couldn’t get over the hump and advance to the NBA Finals after becoming one of the last two teams standing in the East.

As Bobby Marks details in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, the next steps for the Celtics this offseason will be to lock up Jayson Tatum to a maximum-salary rookie extension and to determine how best to upgrade the roster around Tatum and their other core pieces.

According to Marks, determining what to do with their three first-round picks this year also represents a key decision for the Celtics. A year ago, the team used three picks in the top 33 and got mixed results from the trio of Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, and Carsen Edwards. With three of the top 30 selections in the 2020 draft, Boston will have to decide whether to draft three players again, attempt to trade up, or look to turn one or two of those picks into future assets.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

Asked after Sunday’s loss about the possibility of a rookie scale extension, Tatum deflected the question, indicating that he hasn’t seriously considered the idea yet. “I was just focused on this season,” Tatum said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “The front office and my agent gotta talk about it. But I’m not thinking about that right now. We just lost a series. Just thinking about the guys in the locker room and the games. That’s what I’m thinking about. Stuff like that, going to happen, if it happens, (is) not really my concern.”
Once his extension goes into effect in 2020/21, Jaylen Brown‘s first-year cap hit will be $23.73MM, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). That figure includes a $22.99MM base salary and $744K in likely incentives. Brown can earn further incentives in future seasons on that deal if he achieves certain individual accolades.
Despite the disappointing end to their playoff run, the 2019/20 season should only serve to fortify the Celtics’ direction going forward, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, who says the club still has a very promising future.

Atlantic Notes: Powell, Knicks, Harris, Brown

September 23rd, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors shooting guard Norman Powell had his best year ever in 2019/20 at age 26, prompting Eric Koreen of The Athletic to wonder whether or not this offseason may be the perfect time to trade Powell. He is set to earn $10.9MM in 2020/21, and has an $11.6MM player option for 2021/22.

Koreen posits that Powell may be able to command more money on the open market were he to opt out of the final year of his deal. If the Raptors re-sign guard Fred VanVleet, who figures to be one of the premiere free agents in 2020, Koreen opines that flipping Powell’s contract ahead of a free agent-heavy 2021 offseason may make the most sense for Toronto’s future team-building.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Following a two-day hotel quarantine, the Knicks started their first in-market group workouts under new head coach Tom Thibodeau today at their Westchester Country training facility, according to Steve Popper of Newsday. Popper reports that nearly all Knicks players, including everyone on a team option for next season, participated in individual workouts last week.
Unrestricted Nets free agent wing Joe Harris, one of the best three-point shooters in the league, will not be wanting for suitors during the offseason, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reports. Teams with cap space Lewis anticipates having interest include the Knicks, Hawks, Hornets and Timberwolves, though Harris might also be targeted as part of a sign-and-trade deal for an over-the-cap club, such as the Warriors or Sixers. Both Golden State and Philadelphia project to be taxpayers, which would complicate any sign-and-trade deal.
Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown has quietly ascended during the NBA’s Disney World restart to become one of the key leaders for Boston, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic writes in an extensive profile.

Atlantic Notes: CP3, Nash, Stevens, Hayward

September 18th, 2020 at 4:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After the Sixers were swept out of the first round of the 2020 playoffs, the team fired longtime head coach Brett Brown, who had survived several front office shakeups. But the on-court personnel could use some changes, too. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer makes the case for a Chris Paul trade.

Paul, an All-Star in 2020 during his first season with the Thunder, is scheduled to earn $41.3M and $44.2M in the final two years of his current contract. With the Sixers, the 35-year-old point guard could give All-Star guard/forward Ben Simmons more off-ball opportunities and serve as a first-rate facilitator for All-Star center Joel Embiid.

Pompey posits that current Sixers forward Tobias Harris or center Al Horford could be packaged (presumably along with future draft equity) into a deal for Paul.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

New Nets head coach Steve Nash acknowledges that he was brought on board with the franchise because of his interpersonal relationships and culture-building skills, rather than his knowledge of X’s and O’s. “I think they understand that my acumen for the game is strong and I can catch up on any of the tactical aspects,” Nash told Pelicans guard J.J. Redick in a recent edition of Redick’s The Old Man and the Three podcast (per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News). “I think they hired me because of my experience, the personality to work with these guys and help them grow and reach their potential and bring it all together.”
Following an emotional postgame locker room conversation, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens held a late-evening hotel meeting with four of his frustrated stars, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart met with Stevens to unpack their feelings following a Game 2 loss to the Heat that puts Boston in an 0-2 hole for the Eastern Conference Finals.
Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is hoping to return to action for Game 3 on Saturday, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hayward’s addition to the active roster would give Boston much-needed lineup flexibility and shooting help.

Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown Clash After Celtics’ Loss

September 18th, 2020 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat rallied Thursday night to take a 2-0 series lead over the Celtics, but the real action was after the game in Boston’s locker room. Malika Andrews of ESPN and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe both sent out a series of tweets describing angry exchanges and the sound of things being thrown, with much of the yelling coming from Celtics guard Marcus Smart, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Smart, a fiery leader both on and off the court, was reacting after his team let a double-digit lead slip away for the second straight game in the conference finals. Boston led by 17 points in the first half and held an eight-point edge early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold off Miami.

Afterward, a Celtics assistant coach and a team security official mistakenly opened the locker room door and let reporters hear the raw emotions inside. It took nearly 30 minutes before the media were given access to players, Amick adds.

Much of the commotion involved a confrontation between Smart and Jaylen Brown, who had to be separated by teammates, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charania that Smart came into the locker room complaining that he gets too much blame when things go wrong and saying that other players need to be held accountable as well. As Smart got louder, Brown responded that the players needed to stick together and told Smart to calm down. Sources also noted that Smart had verbal confrontations with assistant coaches during the game.

Sources confirmed that objects were thrown in the exchange between Smart and Brown, but teammates were able to separate them before the dispute turned physical. A source said they have already smoothed things over and are focusing on Game 3.

Brown downplayed the incident when talking to reporters, saying Smart was just trying to motivate the team for the rest of the series.

“A lot of emotions flying around,” Brown said. “I think that’s why we love Marcus. You know, he plays with passion, he’s full of fire, and that’s what I love about him most, to be honest. He has that desire and will, and we need him to continue to have that. It’s ups and downs with families all the time, but we embrace each other for who we are. And who Marcus is, I love him for it. So you’ve got to get ready to come back, take that same fire, (and) add it to Game 3.”