Jeff Green Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Notes: LeBron, Nets’ Pick, Rose, Green

October 26th, 2017 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

While the LeBron James rumor mill hasn’t really picked up in earnest yet, there has already been plenty of speculation about where he’ll sign when he becomes a free agent in 2018, and it’s a storyline that figures to pick up steam over the course of the season.

Over at SI.com, Richard Deitsch takes an early look at James’ options, soliciting opinions from basketball writers like Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Michael Lee of The Vertical, Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, and more. Asked to predict LeBron’s 2018 landing spot, Beck stresses that no one knows yet where the four-time MVP will play next season, but the group overwhelmingly votes in favor of the Lakers, with the Cavaliers as the runner-up.

Meanwhile, Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) also explores the LeBron sweepstakes in a roundabout way, examining which clubs will have the cap flexibility next summer to make a run at a maximum-salary free agent. While teams like the Sixers, Mavericks, Hawks, and Bulls project to have significant cap room, no team will have more room than the Lakers, who could potentially open up two max-salary slots with a little help.

Here’s more on the Cavs:

After losing to the Nets on Wednesday night, James points out to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com that Brooklyn’s 2018 first-rounder – currently held by the Cavs – “might not even be that good of a pick.” Given the Nets’ record over the last couple seasons, their unprotected 2018 first-rounder was considered the crown jewel of the Cavs’ trade with the Celtics this summer, but Brooklyn is off to a good start this season, with a 3-2 record. “We’re running around here worrying about getting the Brooklyn pick, they might want our pick,” said head coach Tyronn Lue.
The Cavaliers are giving Derrick Rose what the Knicks didn’t last season, according to Alex Squadron of The New York Post, who explains that Lue’s offensive system gives the former MVP far more freedom than he ever had in the triangle. “Coach Lue and the team have been doing a great job of letting me play the way that I want to play,” Rose said. “So I can’t complain at all.”
Lue hopes to get Rose – who has been sidelined with an ankle injury – back in the lineup on Saturday, per Ashish Mathur of AmicoHoops.net.
Moves like the Kyrie Irving trade and the Dwyane Wade signing overshadowed the Cavs’ offseason signing of Jeff Green, but the team is relying upon the veteran forward to be a defensive stopper early in the season, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com details.

Cavaliers Notes: Green, Shumpert, Lue, Patterson

October 4th, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

After 10 seasons in the NBA, Jeff Green couldn’t pass up an opportunity to play for a championship contender, relays Joe Gabriele of NBA.com. Green took a substantial pay cut to join the Cavaliers, dropping his salary from $15MM last season to the veterans minimum of $2.3MM. He is also relegated to a reserve role, with LeBron James cemented as the team’s starting small forward, but Green said the shot at a ring makes the sacrifices worthwhile.

“That was what I was looking for and that’s what came to my sight – that there was an opportunity here,” said Green, who is with his sixth NBA team. “So I was thankful for it and I couldn’t pass it up; the opportunity was there and I jumped on it. It wasn’t a matter of timing or when it happened. It was just when I got the call and thought about it. And I didn’t have to think long. I wrote down the pros and cons of what I wanted. And this situation fit every ‘pro’ on that list.”

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

Coach Tyronn Lue reassured Iman Shumpert about his future with the team following an offseason filled with trade rumors, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers came close to shipping Shumpert to Houston in early July, but the Rockets pulled out of the deal after signing P.J. Tucker. Cleveland continued to search for a trade, but the right partner never emerged. Shumpert was frustrated by the reports and shared that sentiment with Lue in a pre-camp meeting. He was also upset about the way his role diminished late in the season and into the playoffs. Shumpert has a player option on his $11MM salary for next season and could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Shumpert needs to become more reliable on offense before the Cavs will trust him against the Warriors, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Shumpert was a non-factor as Cleveland’s season ended in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, getting off the bench for less than four minutes. He has vowed to contribute more on the offensive end of the court, but with a turnover rate of 19% in transition, Lloyd cautions that might not be best for the team.
Andrae Patterson, formerly with Utah’s front office, will join the Cavaliers as director of basketball administration, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The 41-year-old had a brief NBA career with the Timberwolves and played nine seasons in Europe.

Central Notes: Johnson, Paxson, Green

September 22nd, 2017 at 5:57pm CST by Austin Kent

There haven’t been any reported indications that the Pistons are pursuing a specific trade, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press notes, but the asset he posits would be most valuable if they were is third-year man Stanley Johnson.

Ellis cites the interest that Johnson drew at the trade deadline as the biggest indication that teams would still be interested in taking a flyer on the intriguing physical specimen. In addition to his impressive 6’7″, 235-pound, NBA-ready frame, the Pistons forward also has a palatable contract that would serve a contending team well.

Involved in a deal or not, however, this season marks Johnson’s best chance to succeed as he’ll break camp as the most natural small forward on the Pistons’ roster.

Ellis suggests that Henry Ellenson and Luke Kennard wouldn’t be quite as valuable considering their lack of NBA success and that the biggest limitation on Andre Drummond‘s trade value would be his hefty contract.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The man calling the shots in Chicago’s front office is John Paxson. The Bulls executive is as powerful as ever, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. The new perspective – especially new after the arrival of Doug Collins this week – could serve them well as they officially embark on a rebuild.
As Jeff Green settles into life with the Cavaliers, he does so with a unique connection to the city of Cleveland. The forward, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes, underwent major heart surgery at the world-famous Cleveland Clinic back in 2012.
Expect second-year Pistons forward Henry Ellenson to vie for a larger role in 2017/18. As Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes, the sophomore forward has been focusing specifically on improving his defense and three-ball, two qualities that head coach Stan Van Gundy is known to put great stock in.

Cavs Sign Jeff Green

July 11th, 2017 at 5:36pm CST by Austin Kent

JULY 11: Jeff Green has officially signed with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team announced the signing in a Tuesday evening press release.

JULY 7: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with forward Jeff Green, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the deal in place is a one-year pact worth $2.3MM.

After signing a previous one-year, $15MM deal with the Magic last offseason, Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The considerable pay decrease on the heels of a career worst season comes with a drastically improved chance of playing for a winner and is a low-risk, high-reward move for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

The 30-year-old has bounced around since coming into the league in 2007/08, some of his best years coming early in his career with the Thunder, and as a result it’s been difficult to truly assess what he’s worth. That, perhaps, has never been more evident than when one compares the contrasting deals the forward signed this summer versus last.

Cavaliers Notes: Crawford, Osman, Lue, Green

July 8th, 2017 at 7:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers weren’t able to get into a bidding war for Jamal Crawford because they need to keep enough money to sign Cedi Osman, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Cleveland is well over the cap for the upcoming season and wasn’t willing to give Crawford its entire $5.192MM taxpayer mid-level exception. The Cavs will need at least $816K to sign Osman, who has a $1MM buyout with his Turkish team. Crawford will reportedly sign a two-year, $8.9MM deal with the Timberwolves once he clears waivers. Vardon wrote on Friday that the Cavaliers were the favorites to land Crawford, but the Osman negotiations apparently changed that situation.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

Coach Tyronn Lue stayed out of negotiations involving former GM David Griffin and front office recruit Chauncey Billups, Vardon writes in a separate piece. “You know how it affects me, he gave me my job,” was Lue’s only response to a question about Griffin at Friday’s summer league game. It was Griffin’s decision to fire David Blatt and replace him with Lue midway through the 2015/16 championship season. A few months after that title, Griffin rewarded Lue with a five-year, $35MM contract. Griffin could have been replaced by Billups, a close friend of Lue, but he turned down a below-market offer reported at $2MM per year. “Any time you get the chance to advance, be the president and GM, it’s always something great,” Lue said. “I know it’s something he always wanted to do. But I just kind of stayed out of the situation because I was so close to Griff, so close to Chauncey, so I didn’t want anything to do with it.”
The Cavs don’t seem worried about Jeff Green‘s drop in production last season, writes Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. They signed the 10-year veteran to a one-year, $2.3MM contract on Friday, with ESPN reporting that LeBron James had “active conversations” with Green before the deal was reached. Green has been with four teams in the past three seasons, and averaged just 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds with the Magic last year, the lowest figures of his career in both categories.
Cleveland is limited is what it can offer, but Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com put together a list of seven free agents who might be willing to take a little less to join a team that has been to three straight finals. He names Thabo Sefolosha, Tony Allen, Gerald Henderson, Luc Mbah a Moute, C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey and Dewayne Dedmon.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Green, Millsap, Hornets

April 23rd, 2017 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the Magic can’t land one of the candidates they want for team president, they will try to get a big name to fill the GM role, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Interim GM Matt Lloyd remains a candidate to keep his job either way, but would probably be more secure if Orlando can get a high-profile president. The Magic are reportedly interested in Cavaliers GM David Griffin, whose contract expires at the end of the season. Former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie probably won’t be a candidate, as a source told Kyler that Hinkie is looking for an “ideal situation” and isn’t ready to return to the NBA. (Twitter link).

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic won’t try to keep free agent forward Jeff Green, writes Kevin P. Smith of Real GM in his offseason preview. Green spent a year in Orlando after signing with the team last July. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 69 games, mostly as a reserve. Smith thinks there’s a better chance that Orlando could try to keep fellow free agent Jodie Meeks if he agrees to an affordable price. In the draft, the Magic may take advantage of a field rich in point guards to find a replacement for Elfrid Payton.
Re-signing free agent forward Paul Millsap will be an offseason priority for the Hawks, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The 31-year-old has been with Atlanta for the past four seasons, making the All-Star team in each one. He’s coming off a career-best scoring year at 18.1 points per game, along with 7.7 rebounds and a career-high 3.7 assists. “We are going to make every effort imaginable to keep him,” said Hawks owner Tony Ressler.
The Hornets face a tough offseason with no available cap room and probably the 11th pick in the draft, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Charlotte’s best option to improve is through trades, with Greene mentioning Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Miles Plumlee as options because they all have deals that average less than $15MM annually. The Hornets also have a $1.7MM exception from the Troy Daniels deal that expires in mid-July.

Magic Expected To Shut Down Jeff Green

April 6th, 2017 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

Magic forward Jeff Green, who has battled back issues recently and missed the team’s last seven games, likely won’t see the court again this season, as Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. Although head coach Frank Vogel insists no final decision has been made, he acknowledges there’s a “good chance” Green’s season is over, and the veteran sounds prepared for that outcome.

“Their plan is to shut me down for the rest of the year and let the young guys play,” Green said, according to Robbins. “I want to play. I wanted to finish out the games, but I’ve got to make sure I’m right before I step out on the floor. But it was the team’s decision to shut me down. … If it was the playoffs, I could play. But it makes no sense at this point to try to come back and force the issue.”

Other lottery-bound teams like the Suns and Lakers, who both have an edge on the Magic in the race to the bottom of the standings, have shut down veteran players in recent weeks, so it makes sense that Orlando would follow suit, particularly if Green isn’t 100%. The 30-year-old also may not be a part of the club’s future plans, since he’s on an expiring contract and has had an underwhelming season with the Magic.

Having signed a one-year, $15MM deal with Orlando last summer, Green has averaged a career-low 9.2 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 2016/17. His .394 FG% and .275 3PT% also represent career worsts. The former fifth overall pick has some decent seasons on his résumé and his ability to play multiple positions will earn him another NBA contract this offseason, but he’s unlikely to come close to matching the $15MM annual salary he earned this past year.

Pistons, Magic Have Discussed Reggie Jackson Deal

February 17th, 2017 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic sent Serge Ibaka to Toronto in a trade earlier this week, and GM Rob Hennigan may not be done dealing yet. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), Orlando and Detroit have discussed a swap that would send Reggie Jackson to the Magic in exchange for D.J. Augustin and Jeff Green.

Today’s report comes just two days after ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote that the Pistons had explored the trade market for Jackson and had come away disappointed with what teams were willing to give up for the veteran point guard. However, even though Lowe suggested Jackson’s trade value had “cratered,” the ESPN analyst didn’t rule out a possible deal, noting that Orlando would be an intriguing fit because Hennigan was in Oklahoma City’s front office when the Thunder drafted Jackson.

Lowe’s piece also featured quotes from Stan Van Gundy and Andre Drummond on the Pistons’ struggles to adjust to Jackson’s return to the lineup this season after establishing some early-season chemistry with Ish Smith at the point.

As Stein himself notes (via Twitter), there’s no indication yet that these talks will turn into anything serious, but it would be an interesting move for two sub-.500 teams who had hopes of contending this season.

Both Jackson and Augustin are under team control through the 2019/20 season, but Augustin’s salary ($7.25MM annually) is much more affordable than Jackson’s ($17MM+ per year after this season). Green, meanwhile, is on a $15MM expiring deal, so a deal centered around those three players would create some future flexibility for the Pistons and would give the Magic a long-term answer at point guard, perhaps opening up the door for an Elfrid Payton trade.

It’s worth noting that if the Pistons were to trade Jackson, they could take back up to about $20MM in salary (the value of Jackson’s salary, plus $5MM). Green and Augustin make a combined $22.25MM, so at least one more piece would need to be involved in this hypothetical transaction.

While the Pistons and Magic may not ultimately agree to a deal with one another, both teams figure to continue scouring the market before next Thursday’s trade deadline.

Kyler’s Latest: Cavs, Sixers, Lopez, Kings, Magic

February 7th, 2017 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have been “aggressively” exploring ways to clear the contract of Chris Andersen from their books, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Andersen, who is out for the season with a torn ACL, is on a minimum salary deal, but moving him would allow Cleveland to open up a roster spot and create additional savings on the team’s projected tax bill.

Although the Cavaliers have been mentioned in some intriguing trade rumors involving star players like Carmelo Anthony, Cleveland is more focused on bolstering its bench. According to Kyler, the Cavs are prioritizing adding a point guard and a big man for depth purposes.

Here are a few more items of interest from around the NBA, via Kyler’s report:

On Monday night, several reports indicated that the Sixers and Pelicans were discussing a possible swap of Jahlil Okafor for Alexis Ajinca and a 2018 first-round pick. However, a source tells Kyler that Philadelphia may not be on board with that specific framework, preferring to put Jrue Holiday in the deal rather than the future first-rounder. The two teams continue to talk, but both sides are exploring other options as well, writes Kyler.
We’ve heard in the past that the Nets are seeking two first-round picks in any Brook Lopez deal. Kyler says that the team is specifically seeking a lottery pick in 2017, plus an additional future first-rounder. It seems unlikely that any team will meet that asking price, but Brooklyn appears content to wait until at least the offseason to get serious about moving Lopez.
There’s a “growing sense” that the Kings might move Darren Collison, as well as Kosta Koufos, by the trade deadline, per Kyler.
Kyler identifies Nikola Vucevic, Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green, and C.J. Watson as Magic players that may be on the move this month, though he notes that Orlando’s asking prices remain high. Kyler’s sources suggest that Toronto would be a favorable long-term situation for Ibaka, but there’s no indication that the big man would be willing to sign with the Raptors long-term, or that the Raps would give up “meaningful assets” for Ibaka.

Magic Notes: Dragic, Crabbe, Vucevic, Harkless

January 13th, 2017 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Orlando is among several teams that have contacted the Heat about Goran Dragic, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The Magic are looking to solidify their point guard position, which belonged to Elfrid Payton when the season began, but was taken over by D.J. Augustin in late November. Dragic still has three years and more than $54MM left on his current contract. He is averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 assists in 32 games this season, but has missed time recently with back problems.

There’s more news today out of Orlando:

After losing six of their last seven and dropping to 16-24, the Magic need to act quickly to save their season, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Offense has been a problem for Orlando all year, and Schmitz says the team needs to find a scorer who can create his own shot. He suggests Allen Crabbe of the Trail Blazers as a realistic target and suggests offering, possibly with shot-blocking center Bismack Biyombo going to Portland in return.
Nikola Vucevic will be back in the starting lineup tonight, with Biyombo coming off the bench, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Vucevic was demoted along with Payton in the November shakeup. Coach Frank Vogel plans to utilize more “small-ball” lineups with Jeff Green moving to power forward and Mario Hezonja back in the rotation as a backup small forward.
The Magic made a huge error when they gave up on Maurice Harkless two years ago, Robbins argues in a separate piece. After three disappointing seasons in Orlando, Harkless was traded to Portland in the summer of 2015 in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2020. He was a regular starter for the Blazers during last year’s playoffs and has started all 40 games in which he has appeared this season. “It was a tough situation: a lot of guys trying to figure it out, including the staff and the front office,” Harkless said of his time in Orlando. “It was a unique situation. It was tough. Obviously, it wasn’t going to work out for everybody. I think a change of scenery is what I needed.”