Jeff Weltman Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Richardson, Rozier, Hawks, Magic, Bridges

February 12th, 2024 at 10:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Injuries have been a season-long issue for the Heat, who may have lost two more players in Sunday’s game, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. MRIs are scheduled today for Josh Richardson and Terry Rozier, creating more potential challenges as coach Erik Spoelstra works to develop a consistent lineup.

Richardson fell to the court and grabbed his right shoulder early in the second quarter, according to Chiang. After being helped up, he headed to the locker room for an X-ray that came back negative. He was wearing a sling after the game.

“I felt my shoulder pop out on the floor and then pop back in when I was laying on the ground,” Richardson said. “So thank goodness for that. But I’ll know more (Monday).”

Rozier was hurt midway through the third quarter when he landed awkwardly on his right leg on an attempted layup. Trainers had to help him to the locker room as well.

Chiang points out that if Richardson and Rozier have to miss significant time, that leaves Tyler Herro and two-way player Alondes Williams as the only healthy guards on Miami’s roster.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hawks general manager Landry Fields said signs of progress from the current roster convinced him to stand pat at the trade deadline, per Lauren Williams of The Journal-Constitution. Dejounte Murray was considered one of the top names on the market, but Fields believes there’s value in keeping the current team together. “We’ve seen an uptick with Onyeka (Okongwu),” he said. “We’ve seen an uptick with Jalen Johnson. We’ve seen an uptick with Saddiq Bey, and I can go right down the line even down to (the G League team in) College Park where, Kobe Bufkin is developing extremely well in that environment.”
The same approach was taken by Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, whose team was also quiet at the deadline despite having “lengthy conversations” with some teams, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “We’re very happy with where we are right now from a big-picture standpoint,” Weltman said. “We weren’t going to be overly aggressive, we weren’t going to get out of our comfort zone and we certainly weren’t going to deviate from our plan.”
Hornets forward Miles Bridges, whose name was involved in trade rumors over the last several weeks, is relieved that deadline speculation is finally over, notes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges said several times that he prefers to stay in Charlotte and ultimately decided to use his veto power to reject any deal the team might have made. “This was my first year dealing with all that,” he said of the deadline rumors. “Me, I’m happy so I can just focus on the season and focus on trying to get us some wins.”

Raptors Notes: Barnes, Roster, Siakam, Young, Achiuwa

November 23rd, 2023 at 7:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Raptors forward Scottie Barnes has playing his best pro basketball yet for Toronto this season, but the club still needs to determine how to maximize his unique skill set, opines Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

Grange notes that Barnes has shown marked growth following an at-times disengaged sophomore season in 2022/23. Barnes’ multifaceted game and positional flexibility make him an intriguing young star in the making, albeit one who needs well-curated help to flourish.

“[His versatility] is good but at the same time it’s a problem because he has so many traits, so many things that he can do on a higher level,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said.

Through 15 games this season, Barnes is averaging 19.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.7 SPG and 1.3 BPG.

There’s more out of Toronto:

Former Raptors GM Jeff Weltman was let out of his contract with Toronto in order to assume the mantle of Magic team president in 2017. In the intervening seasons, it’s become clear that Weltman is taking a lot of the lessons he learned under the tutelage of Raptors president Masai Ujiri to heart, writes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Murphy sees several parallels between the constructions of both rosters. When drafting, both teams prioritize size and length, forgoing normal conceptions of position in favor of athletes with epic wingspans. That said, Eric Koreen of The Athletic opines that the Raptors’ forwards aren’t getting enough personnel help elsewhere from the front office.
When the Raptors appeared to be slipping early in the 2023/24 season, All-Star power forward Pascal Siakam did his best to steer the club away from a possible return to the bad vibes of last year’s lottery team, writes Koreen in a separate piece. Siakam’s aggressive and prolific play has helped paper over some careless in-game errors from his teammates, Koreen notes.
Raptors forwards Thaddeus Young and Precious Achiuwa are both questionable to play in Friday’s matchup against the Bulls, reports Murphy (Twitter link). Young has an illness, while Achiuwa is dealing with a knee injury.

Draft Notes: Magic, Sochan, Hardy, Daniels

June 20th, 2022 at 7:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While such comments typically produce eye rolls, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman insists the Magic haven’t decided who they’ll take with the top overall pick, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Weltman says “it’s still early in the process,” even though draft night is Thursday. “Dialogue is always ongoing,” Weltman said. “But, most importantly, we get to do what we want. That’s the real benefit of having the No. 1 pick.”

Orlando is expected to draft either Jabari Smith or Chet Holmgren.

We have more draft-related info:

Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan attended the Wizards’ pre-draft workout on Monday but didn’t participate due to an injury, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Sochan sat out with a mild hamstring strain. Washington owns the No. 1o pick. Sochan is ranked No. 15 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy, ranked No. 22 by ESPN, worked out for the Sixers on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. St. Joseph’s forward Jordan Hall, Delaware guard Kevin Anderson, Alabama guard Keon Ellis, Baylor wing Kendall Brown and UNLV shooting guard Bryce Hamilton joined him, Pompey adds in another tweet. Philadelphia owns the No. 23 pick.
G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels cancelled a visit with the Kings after receiving a green room invitation, Sean Cunningham of KTXL tweets. Daniels is ranked No. 6 by ESPN. Daniels is the second-ranked point guard behind Jaden Ivey, who revealed that he hasn’t had contact with the team holding the No. 4 pick.

Magic Notes: Draft, No. 1 Pick, Mosley, Weltman

May 21st, 2022 at 2:33pm CST by JD Shaw

By securing the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, the Magic may finally get the impactful big man they’ve been searching for, Zach Kram writes for The Ringer. Orlando has taken chances on young frontcourt players in recent years, drafting Jonathan Isaac sixth overall in 2017, Mohamed Bamba sixth in 2018 and trading for Wendell Carter Jr. in 2021.

To this point, Isaac, Bamba and Carter haven’t been game-changers, though all of them are still 24 years old or younger. Orlando will select first in the draft, likely choosing from a consensus top three in Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr. and Paolo Banchero, all of whom are power forwards or centers.

Outside of their big men, the Magic also have young players Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, R.J. Hampton, Chuma Okeke and Franz Wagner. The team is clearly trying to figure out the best combination for the future, a group that could be headlined by this year’s No. 1 pick.

Here are some other notes from Orlando:

Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel examines who the Magic should draft as they continue their rebuild, specifically with the top selection. The team is coming off a 22-60 season, which was the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst record in the league.
Mike Vorkonuv of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the night of the draft lottery, which awarded the Magic the No. 1 pick. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman was originally supposed to represent the Magic on the lottery stage, but was replaced by Jamahl Mosley because the head coach “felt lucky.” As it turns out, Mosley had good reason to feel lucky.
By securing the top pick, the Magic put the decade-long “Dwightmare” to an end, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel opines. Bianchi, referring to former Magic center Dwight Howard, explores how Orlando hasn’t received a No. 1 selection since drafting Howard in 2004. Howard had six All-Star seasons in a Magic uniform, with perhaps his best coming in 2010/11 (22.9 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game). The Magic also haven’t won 50 games since then, which was one of the last years Howard played with the team.

Magic Extend Execs Jeff Weltman, John Hammond Through 2026

January 10th, 2022 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have signed president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond to contract extensions that run through the 2025/26 season, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Weltman and Hammond took the reins in Orlando’s front office during the spring of 2017, after the club parted ways with former GM Rob Hennigan.

Since then, the Magic have a record of just 128-222 (.366), with a single winning season in 2018/19 (42-40). The team made the playoffs twice, but was eliminated in the first round by a 4-1 margin in both 2019 and 2020.

Although that résumé doesn’t look particularly impressive on paper, Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that team ownership is pleased with the direction of the Magic’s rebuild following last season’s decision to blow up the roster by trading veterans Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier.

Since then, Orlando has hired a new head coach (Jamahl Mosley) and drafted two promising young prospects in the 2021 lottery: Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner. Additionally, 2020 first-rounder Cole Anthony has taken a major step forward, averaging 19.9 PPG through his first 27 games this season, and the Magic are owed two first-round picks and five second-rounders by 2027, having hung onto all of their own draft picks.

The club also should get former lottery picks Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac back from ACL tears at some point this season, and is in a great position to land another top-five pick in 2022 — the Magic’s 7-34 record puts them atop this season’s “reverse standings.”

Southeast Notes: Artificial Intelligence, Beal, Hornets, Hawks

July 27th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Magic, like every other NBA team, didn’t have a chance to scout prospects in person for most of this year. But Orlando has one tool at their disposal that other teams don’t, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic: an Artificial Intelligence system called AutoStats.

AutoStats works similarly to the tracking program Second Spectrum, but without requiring the same specialized set-up, instead working off a basic broadcast to compile physical data and analyze it. Because of an agreement reached with the team in 2019, the Magic have exclusive rights to the technology.

“It helps us get a better read on everything that the naked eye may miss,” said President of Basketball Ops Jeff Weltman. “It’s very powerful information. It’s what drives most of NBA analytics. So to have the next best thing applied to colleges, where it’s typically unavailable to most teams, we believe that is a significant competitive advantage.”

How it will effect the Magic’s draft decision-making process remains to be seen.

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

In the view of David Aldridge of The Athletic, it’s time for either Bradley Beal or the Wizards to be the bad guy and throw in the towel on this partnership. Aldridge contends that there’s no realistic path for Beal to contention as long as he stays in Washington, and despite his continued loyalty to the franchise he’s been with since he was 19, competing at the highest level is still a priority. Aldridge touches on the reported interest from the Warriors and Raptors, and adds that a Beal trade would almost certainly necessitate moving Russell Westbrook as well.
The Hornets held a pre-draft workout for center Day’Ron Sharpe today, per a team PR tweet. Sharpe is considered a fringe first/second-round pick, and though the Hornets only have two very late second-round picks, it’s possible they could consider a move into the first half of the second round to try to address their glaring hole at center.
The Hawks have hired Steve Gansey to be the head coach of their G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, reports Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Gansey spent the past five seasons as the head coach of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Southeast Notes: Collins, Hawks, Magic, Hornets

July 26th, 2021 at 7:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Hawks power forward John Collins opted to not accept Atlanta’s four-year, $90MM contract extension offer during the 2020 offseason, opinions were split on what he could fetch in restricted free agency ahead of the 2020/21 season. As an athletic jump-shooting big man who still appears to have room to grow, Collins now appears set to be one of the top available free agents this summer, opines Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

“The couple of seasons I had before might not have been viewed as winning and empty stats,” Collins told Kirschner. “I don’t know if I wanted to prove to anyone anything other than versatility and playing basketball at a high level. I wanted to show that I could play at a high level and add winning to an organization in more ways than just one. I feel like I’ve proven that. I’m pleased with myself and my ability to help the team win and show my ability to be versatile.”

Kirschner writes that the Hawks should ensure that they re-sign Collins, who proved to be a crucial component of the club that took the eventual-champion Bucks to six games in the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. Kirschner projects that a four-year, $110MM deal could satisfy both Collins and Atlanta.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Hawks have announced some finalized coaching staff hires ahead of the 2021/22 season, according to a team press release. Joe Prunty, most recently an assistant with the Suns, and Jamelle McMillan, most recently an assistant with the Pelicans, are the new additions under head coach Nate McMillan. Prunty and Jamelle McMillan were reported to be possibilities for Atlanta earlier this month.
Magic president Jeff Weltman indicated that Orlando has had conversations about trading up or down in the upcoming 2021 draft, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I think trading up is always difficult, and it’s always difficult the higher you’re talking [about] in the draft,” Weltman said. “I can tell you that we’ve had a lot of discussions both ways, up and down. And it’s not easy to get those deals done.” The Magic currently have the Nos. 5 and 8 selections in the first round of Thursday’s draft.
Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak has suggested that Charlotte will select the best player available with the No. 11 pick in Thursday’s draft, writes Jonathan M. Alexander of the Charlotte Observer. Though upgrading the center position appears to be the team’s most pressing need, the team is open to all possibilities. “We don’t know what the future holds for [free agent centers Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombo],” Kupchak said. “Do they want to come back here? I think they do. And then there is a marketplace that has to be considered.” Kupchak conceded that the team could use help at the five spot. “So if you just look at a depth chart, it’s clear to see … there’s a need there.” He cautioned that the draft may not be the route the Hornets ultimately go when it comes to improving at center. “There aren’t too many centers in the draft. We’re not going to hunt a center.”

Eastern Notes: Holiday, LaVine, Hawks, Magic

July 9th, 2021 at 7:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The trade that brought Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee helped the Bucks reach the Finals. Holiday has struggled in the first two games of the series but Giannis Antetokounmpo is confident his teammate turn things around as the series shifts to Milwaukee, Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

“No matter what’s going on, you’ve got to stay aggressive and you cannot get in your feelings. It’s hard not to,” Antetokounmpo said. “You know, NBA Finals, 20,000 people booing you and all that, it’s kind of hard. … If there’s a game that you’re 3-for-12 or whatever the case might be and you can rebound the ball or get a steal or do something else to help the team win, that’s what it’s all about right now. I think he understands that. I know he’s going to be there when we need him the most and I don’t worry about it.”

Holiday shot 11-for-35 from the field during the two games in Phoenix.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Zach LaVine will discuss a contract extension with the Bulls soon and he anticipates a positive outcome, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times tweets. LaVine will make $19.5MM next season and then is due to become an unrestricted free agent. LaVine is currently with Team USA training for the Olympics.
On the surface, Jamahl Mosley won’t have a lot of pressure as the new head coach of the rebuilding Magic — provided that he finalizes an agreement — but he’ll face some obstacles, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. The current roster doesn’t have a clear No. 1 offensive option and that could create some chemistry issues. In the same piece, Robbins reveals that president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and GM John Hammond are expected to receive contract extensions. Both have one year remaining on their deals and the length of their new contracts will likely coincide with Mosley’s deal.
Now that he’s had the interim tag removed, Hawks coach Nate McMillan knows that expectations will ramp up for a team that reached the conference finals, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “Things just for whatever reason went right, and we had a lot of success,” he said. “We know that expectations are going to be higher for us next season. But the one thing we’ve tried to keep this team locked in on is just us. Not the outside noise and what people are saying we should be or shouldn’t be because at the beginning of the season, they weren’t saying what they’re saying now about us. So you can’t focus on that.”

Magic Notes: Lottery, Weltman, Isaac, Coaching Search

June 23rd, 2021 at 5:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Among the teams with the best odds heading into Tuesday’s draft lottery, the Magic were the only one to fall out of the top three. Orlando slipped into the fifth spot and will have a second lottery pick after receiving the No. 8 selection from the Bulls. While president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman was disappointed with the results, he said that he’s glad to finally have some clarity on next month’s draft, as Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel writes.

“I’ll look at it now as we have a lot of work to do, and we get to put a finer point on the work,” Weltman said. “So we kind of are looking just to put this day behind us and really drill down on the two picks that we have now. Knowing that we have two top-10 picks, that part of it’s very exciting.

“And then the other part is the draft, and it very seldom works out in the way that you prognosticate it. You look back on pretty much any draft, and it doesn’t go that way so it’s our job to find the players in the draft and we will. Now that we know where we’re picking and how many picks we’ll have, we’ll be able to kind of get to the next layer of that.”

There’s more from Orlando:

In the same story, Parry suggests the team may try to package one of the selections and possibly a veteran such as Gary Harris or Terrence Ross in an effort to move up. “We always explore all options and it’ll be interesting to kind of start to engage with teams (with the Magic) having two top-10 picks,” Weltman said. “Sometimes it ends up in deals that get done and sometimes it’s a lot of close but no calls. So we’ll see how that goes but we will be busy and the busyness starts with evaluating these two draft picks.”
Injured forward Jonathan Isaac shared some encouraging news in a recent appearance on The Sixth Man Show podcast (hat tip to Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily). Isaac missed the entire 2020/21 season with a torn ACL and there’s still not a definite timetable for him to return, but he believes he’s making progress. “I’m turning the corner,” he said. “It’s like every day I feel like I’m moving better and I can do more. I’m like a kid in the candy story wanting to run around and do so much. I feel good. I’m getting better every day.”
In the search to replace Steve Clifford, the Magic front office wants someone with previous head-coaching experience, Marc Stein of The New York Times writes in his latest newsletter. Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and Clippers assistant Kenny Atkinson are two candidates that Stein has heard mentioned frequently.

Southeast Notes: Bradley, Robinson, Weltman, Hawks

June 20th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Tim MacMahon of ESPN noted in a Hoop Collective Podcast appearance that the Rockets are expected to decline their $5.9MM second-year team option on the contract of guard Avery Bradley, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel said he believes the 30-year-old guard could be a nice cost-effective fit with the Heat.

Given that the Heat dealt him to the league-worst Rockets at the deadline this season, and that Bradley’s availability (and efficacy) was significantly hampered by injuries, Winderman acknowledges that the guard may look elsewhere first. Following the trade, Bradley averaged 5.2 PPG (while shooting 31.4% from the field and 27.0% from deep), 2.3 RPG and 1.9 APG across 23.0 MPG in 17 contests with the team.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Restricted Heat free agent Duncan Robinson has teased that he may provide his own scoop regarding his future with the franchise on his podcast The Long Shot, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The sharpshooting swingman, 27, just completed his third NBA season with Miami, who signed him as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2018 out of Michigan. He has emerged as one of the top shooters in the NBA. In 2019/20, Robinson connected on 44.6% of his 8.3 three-point attempts a night. During the ’20/21 season, Robinson made 40.8% of his 8.5 three-point tries.
Magic team president Jeff Weltman spoke with Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com about the upcoming draft lottery, among other topics. “We’re already in deep preparation mode in ranking players, trying to gain an understanding of how we see each guy fitting into our team, and watching a lot of video, having spirited debates, (and) start(ing) to establish tiers and ranking systems,” Weltman said. “So, it really from that end of things doesn’t change. What it will do is it will inform us of how we can more efficiently begin to work. Once we know how many picks we’ll have, where we’re picking, we can kind of put a finer point on that work. And our work will kind of turn a corner after the lottery.”
The Hawks are hoping to win a game in Philadelphia for the third time in their seven-game second-round series against the Sixers, writes Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Should the Hawks advance today, they will face off against the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. “You have to look at that, the fact that we have won there twice in this series,” head coach Nate McMillan said. “So you should feel confident that you can win in that building. We’ve done well, I would say, in the playoffs on the road (the Hawks are 4-2 in playoff road games this season]) And I think we feel we have to play with confidence on the road, and as (star point guard Trae Young) mentioned, it’s a one-game series now.” McMillan is currently an interim head coach with the club, having replaced Lloyd Pierce during the season. His playoff run with the Hawks should bode well for a long-term future with the team.