Jonah Bolden Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Perry, Ojeleye, Bolden

July 15th, 2018 at 10:45pm CST by Austin Kent

While Knicks general manager Scott Perry is still relatively new to the job, an impressive second summer at the helm has shown that’s he’s a competent choice to lead the franchise. Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes that the stellar play of second-round pick Mitchell Robinson is the latest example of his prowess.

Not only did Perry nab a useful young big man that could grow to be a part of the Knicks’ core, he did it on the cheap. Robinson signed a four-year deal worth $6.6MM that will keep him under affordable team control.

Hamilton also calls to light Perry’s selection of Kevin Knox in the first round, the hiring of David Fizdale and the 2017 trade of Carmelo Anthony as the general manager’s early portfolio of work with the Knicks.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:

The Knicks will look to see Mario Hezonja break out in his fourth year as an NBA pro and, as Marc Berman of The New York Post writes, one of the keys to that will be the swingman maintaining his confidence. A stable coaching staff should help in that regard.
The Celtics effectively guaranteed Semi Ojeleye‘s contract by not waiving him by today, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets. The second-year forward has stood out for the C’s during summer league.
Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden, who hopes to play for the big league club this season, struggled in summer league play. The 2017 pick understands that he didn’t perform as well this year as he did in the previous summer league and, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, attributes it to a lack of organized basketball this spring.

Jonah Bolden Plans To Play For Sixers

July 6th, 2018 at 11:28am CST by Arthur Hill

After spending one season in Israel, Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden believes he is ready for the NBA, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 36th pick in 2017, Bolden made his intentions clear after Thursday’s practice with the Sixers’ summer league team.

“My plan is to come [to the NBA] this year,” Bolden said. “That was the plan from Day 1 with [former president of basketball operations] Bryan [Colangelo]. That’s still the plan now without Bryan. All respect to Bryan. I appreciated all he did for me. … But the plan is coming over this next season, 2018/19.”

A 6’10” power forward out of UCLA, Bolden spent this past season with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. He averaged 6.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 28 starts while shooting 31.9% from 3-point range. His three-year contract with Maccabi includes an NBA buyout that’s reportedly set at $400K.

“That’s between my agent, my team — the team I was on, Maccabi — and the Sixers,” Bolden said. “They have to figure that all out.”

Roster space could be an issue for Bolden again. Philadelphia, which had 11 players under contract when the offseason began, reached an agreement on Thursday with free agent Nemanja Bjelica. The Sixers also have a deal in place to acquire Wilson Chandler from the Nuggets and will re-sign J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson. Add in draft picks Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet, who have already signed, along with a possible deal for second-rounder Shake Milton, and the team will be well over the 15-man roster limit.

T.J. McConnell and Richaun Holmes are on non-guaranteed contracts, while Jerryd Bayless [$8.58MM next season] and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot [$1.54MM] could be in danger of being waived.

Atlantic Notes: Smart, Sixers, Fizdale

July 5th, 2018 at 9:03pm CST by Austin Kent

The Celtics extended their $6MM qualifying offer to Marcus Smart in the days leading up to free agency but haven’t been in touch since, Mark Murphy of The Boston Heralds writes. That’s left the 24-year-old guard feeling “hurt” and “disgusted.”

While the comments originating from a source close to Smart’s camp could be ripped straight from a Pre-MBA Negotiations 101 textbook, there could be truth to them considering that Smart just watched his significantly less accomplished draftmate Dante Exum net a three-year deal with the Jazz.

“He’s just hurt and frustrated that Danny Ainge hasn’t reached out. That’s the most discouraging part of this whole thing. The last contact was a few days before free agency started,” the source said.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:

The Sixers will be flush with cap space next summer, when a number of players signed to one-year deals come off their books. But, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes, they may not get a large window to use that $42MM of projected space. In 2020, the club will be forced to pay up for restricted free agents Ben Simmons and Dario Saric.
While he’s always been one to play footloose and fancy free with the concept of traditional player positions, a vision Knicks boss David Fizdale shared with Marc Berman of The New York Post could be one of the most innovative yet. The head coach talked about playing Mitchell Robinson and Luke Kornet – both seven footers – together, with Kristaps Porzingis at the three and 6’9″ rookie Kevin Knox at the two. “Obviously, I have a crush on wingspan,” Fizdale said.
It’s official, Jonah Bolden, a 2017 draft-and-stash Sixers prospect, is officially on Philadelphia’s summer league roster, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Howard, Knicks, Bolden

July 4th, 2018 at 3:13pm CST by Austin Kent

The Nets could have an extra $8MM in cap space to work with if the Dwight Howard buyout falls in the 30-40% range that many such agreements typically come to, Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes.

That, coupled with the $6.6MM in room cap room the Nets had prior to the buyout, would give them close to $15MM in overall space to absorb another bad deal in return for assets or even go out and target their own player.

Lewis writes that Howard wasn’t interested in giving back more than $3-5MM and wasn’t incentivized to agree to the Nets’ buyout proposal until he knew that the Wizards were interested. It remains to be seen what the final numbers on that buyout agreement will look like.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division today:

Incoming first-round pick Robert Williams hasn’t made a great impression on the Celtics but an Associated Press report suggests that the big man won’t face any discipline for missing several team commitments less than a week into his NBA career. Not formal discipline, at least. “They discipline you with words,” the 20-year-old said. “More than you may know.“
While Knicks acquisitions Mario Hezonja and Kevin Knox are a far cry from the future Hall-of-Famers David Fizdale worked with as a member of the Heat‘s coaching staff, the head coach believes that those flexible wings can play similar roles to the ones Dwyane Wade and LeBron James filled in Miami. Marc Berman of The New York Post spoke with Fizdale about his desire to play more positionless basketball.
The Sixers expect 2017 draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden to participate in Summer League, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. International basketball reporter David Pick first tweeted that the Sixers had asked Maccabi Tel Aviv to clear Bolden to play in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old forward is a candidate to play in the NBA this season.

Atlantic Notes: Fizdale, Knox, Smart, Bayless

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

New coach David Fizdale believes the Knicks will be in position to have a huge impact on free agency next summer, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Mario Hezonja represents the Knicks’ only major signing this year, but Fizdale gave a hint of what the organization expects 12 months from now.

“We knew coming into this July there wasn’t a lot of money to spend,” he said. “We wanted to be real strategic with who we went after and if it fit the kind of guys we wanted to have here. I felt like we’ve done that and now we can just lock in, get into the group we have, start developing these guys, growing these guys, let them go through the ups and downs. And as we get our culture in place, [Kristaps Porzingis] gets healthy, we start moving into next summer, I really feel like we’ll have the bricks in place to make some big moves.”

Enes Kanter‘s $18.6MM salary will come off the books in 2019, and the $38MM still owed to Joakim Noah may have been stretched by then. In addition, Ron Baker, Emmanuel Mudiay and Troy Williams are all potential free agents.

There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks first-rounder Kevin Knox is focused on conditioning prior to the start of summer league, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. There was concern about Knox’s energy level at Kentucky, and he admits some of it was justified. “I worked on my conditioning a lot this summer as far as getting in extra sprints, so I keep my motor up the whole game,” he said. “You’re going to get tired at some point during the game. It’s good we got a lot of guys that if I have to sub myself out so I can be on the court 100 percent playing with full energy.”
Dante Exum‘s new contract with the Jazz may complicate the Celtics‘ negotiations with Marcus Smart, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Although he believes it’s “highly likely” that Smart returns to Boston, the news that Exum received $33MM over three seasons could make contract talks more difficult. They were drafted back-to-back in 2014, but Smart has played 99 more games and his career scoring average is more than four points higher.
A buyout appears more likely than the stretch provision for the Sixers and Jerryd Bayless, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Philadelphia has 15 players under contract and may need to open a roster spot for second-round pick Shake Milton or overseas prospect Jonah Bolden.

Sixers Consider Using Jonah Bolden As Trade Chip

July 2nd, 2018 at 12:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers are entertaining the idea of using draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden as a trade asset, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (via Twitter).

Bolden, 22, was selected by the Sixers with the 36th overall pick in the 2017 draft. With no room on last season’s roster for the young forward, Philadelphia retained Bolden’s rights as he continued his career overseas.

Bolden spent the 2017/18 season with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. He averaged 7.6 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 26 Israeli League contests, and also chipped in 6.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 29 EuroLeague games. Considered a candidate to come stateside for the 2018/19 campaign, Bolden has a standard buyout on his contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Pick notes.

According to Pick, Bolden has generated “lots of interest” from other NBA teams. If the Sixers do decide to dangle him in trade talks, it’s not clear if he’d be offered as part of a larger package for an impact player like Kawhi Leonard, or if the club would explore moving him in a smaller-scale deal.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Bolden, Knicks, Mozgov

June 17th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers don’t have room on their roster to accommodate all six picks that they own, so expect a trade or two by draft night, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia heads into Thursday’s draft with the 10th and 26th selections in the first round, plus Nos. 38, 39, 56 and 60 in the second round.

One option is trying to package both picks along with a player to move into the top five, Pompey notes. Another is a smaller deal to inch up a couple of spots and increase the odds of landing Villanova’s Mikal Bridges. The Sixers could also swing for the fences on Kawhi Leonard, offering the Spurs the 10th pick, Markelle Fultz and either Dario Saric or Robert Covington.

Pompey cites a comment made by former Cavaliers GM David Griffin this week that the Sixers have their eyes on someone projected to be among the first five selections, adding that Luka Doncic or Michael Porter Jr. would be a good fit in Philadelphia.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Philadelphia needs to make room on its roster for Jonah Bolden, a 2017 second-rounder who is expected to come to the NBA next season, Pompey adds in the same story. A 6’10” stretch four, Bolden played for Maccabi Tel Aviv this year in the Israel Premier League.
Mikal Bridges and Kentucky’s Kevin Knox would both be good fits for the Knicks, ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenburg tells Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Even though Kristaps Porzingis is expected to be sidelined until at least December with a torn ACL, Greenburg believes the priority should be to find a player who complements him. “You’re not winning today,” Greenberg said, “so I think you’ve got to approach it like, ‘Who will play best with Porzingis?’ You’ve got to give Porzingis something to get excited about. Who’s going to fit with him? I think Knox and Bridges can both.” He adds that the Knicks should avoid drafting another point guard, even if Trae Young or Collin Sexton is available at No. 9.
The agent for Timofey Mozgov has talked to the Nets about his client’s lack of playing time, but hasn’t demanded a trade or discussed a buyout, relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. With two years and $33.7 million remaining on his contract, Mozgov is virtually untradeable, and Lewis points out that the Nets are unlikely to go through with another buyout while they’re still paying Deron Williams. “I don’t know any reason why I first lost my place in the starting five and then not playing even a minute,” Mozgov said. “But it’s the head coach’s decision and he is responsible for result. I tried to speak to [Kenny] Atkinson, but he was not able to give me an answer.”

Jonah Bolden Likely To Join Sixers Next Season

May 12th, 2018 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

Jonah Bolden, the Sixers’ second-round pick (36th overall), from the 2017 NBA Draft is likely to join the team next season, president Bryan Colangelo told reporters, including Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers did not have the roster flexibility to carry Bolden this season, so he signed a three-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. Bolden’s deal contains an NBA-out clause that would enable him to join Philadelphia next season.

In 29 games this season, the 6’10” big man averaged 6.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.6 APG while shooting 31.9% from beyond the arc.

“He can rebound the ball very well instinctively,” Colangelo said of the Australian forward. “Can handle it in transition, make good decisions. You don’t want to put him in that situation every day, but he’s a grab-and-go guy that can move the basketball.”

Colangelo also praised Bolden’s athleticism and believes the 2017 second-rounder has the tools to be a modern-day NBA big man.

Sixers Notes: Probably LeBron James, McConnell, Fultz

May 11th, 2018 at 7:25pm CST by Austin Kent

Sixers head coach Brett Brown made it very clear that the team could benefit from acquiring a high-level free agent as they accelerate their title-contention timeline. That, Derek Bodner of The Athletic writes, probably means one LeBron James, though tampering rules prevented Brown from saying that outright.

The Sixers coach spoke in a press conference after his team’s exit from the second-round of the playoffs, saying that he believes the organization is an appealing landing spot.

Given that the dynamic tandem of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons wasn’t enough to guide the Sixers into the Eastern Conference Finals, the club is ready and willing to add the necessary reinforcements to make a genuine title run.

“I’m not here to tell names,” Brown said in regard to the type of player the Sixers will pursue. “To me, the answer becomes clear. […] It’s true though, right? I mean, like, we don’t have to turn this into calculus. It’s quite clear.”

There’s more out of Philly this evening:

After head coach Brett Brown spoke of attracting a high-level free agent this summer, general manager Bryan Colangelo clarified that the organization needs to add high-level talent in general, which could come in the form of a trade or internal development, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.
There’s no denying that T.J. McConnell‘s future with the Sixers will be impacted by Markelle Fultz‘s growth as a player. “Markelle is a special player, that’s not a lie,” McConnell told Sarah Todd of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “When he plays at the level that they drafted him to play at, if there’s a spot for me, great; if not, I’m not really sure what I can do about that. Unfortunately, that’s out of my hands. But I’d love to be here.“
The most likely draft-and-stash player to join the Sixers next season is 2017 second-round pick Jonah Bolden out of Australia, The Athletic’s Derek Bodner tweets. The power forward played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in EuroLeague this season.
Unsurprisingly, Bryan Colangelo said that he has no regrets about trading up in the 2017 draft to select Markelle Fultz. Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets that Colangelo doesn’t have an ounce of buyer’s remorse.

Atlantic Notes: Hornacek, Raptors, Bolden, Hayes

March 11th, 2018 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek admires the continuity the Raptors have maintained in rising to the top spot in the East, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Toronto’s All-Star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry has been together for five seasons, along with center Jonas Valanciunas, and Dwane Casey has been the coach the whole time.

“Since we’re playing Toronto, you could use them as a great example,” Hornacek said. “They were a pretty decent team, but you look back three years ago, they were talking about blowing that team up. They’ve stayed with it. They’ve stayed with those guys. Now, three years later, they look like one of the best teams in the league because now they have a lot of familiarity with each other.”

Over that same five-year stretch, New York had four coaches and 130 starting lineups, with 13 of those this season. Only six current Knicks were with the team last year, and just three of them are currently active.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The way he has handled all that chaos over the past two seasons should earn Hornacek another year as Knicks coach, argues Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Hornacek has one year left on his contract, and with Kristaps Porzingis likely sidelined until at least December, Bondy thinks it may be wise to let Hornacek deal with another losing season rather than bring a new coach into that environment.
Jonah Bolden‘s Israeli team wants to hold onto him for another season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. A second-round pick by the Sixers last summer, Bolden has a $650K opt-out clause in his contract, but Maccabi Tel Aviv has contacted Philadelphia officials about leaving him overseas for one more year.
Raptors forward Nigel Hayes has spent the past year improving his outside shot to help his chances at sticking on an NBA roster, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Questions about his shooting contributed to Hayes going undrafted out of Wisconsin, but he has hit 45% from long distance in the G League. He hopes to capitalize on his latest chance, a 10-day contract with Toronto. “When I’m out there on the court, when I’m given opportunity, I’m not only playing for them,” he said of the Raptors. “There’s 29 other [NBA] teams that are watching and seeing my improvements and what I can do, or how I can be an asset to their team.”