Justin Holiday Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Acquire Derrick Rose From Bulls

June 22nd, 2016 at 11:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks and Bulls have agreed to deal that sends Derrick Rose to New York, along with Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round pick. In exchange, Chicago receives Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon. Both teams have officially confirmed the move, with the Knicks announcing that they’ve also waived guard Tony Wroten as part of the deal.

K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link) first reported that an agreement was in place, along with all the names involved, while Adrian Wojnarwoski and Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link) were first to report that the two teams were engaged in “advanced talks” on a trade that would send Rose to the Knicks. The deal also came on the heels of earlier reports that the Bulls were open to moving Rose, and that the Knicks had internally discussed acquiring the Chicago point guard.

While Rose has been plagued by injuries since his MVP campaign in 2010/11, he managed to stay on the court for 66 games this past season, his highest mark in five years. In those games, he recorded averages of 16.4 points and 4.7 assists, shooting .427 from the floor.

Rose is entering the final year of his contract, and is set to earn a $21.323MM salary in 2016/17, so the Knicks are betting on him continuing to stay healthy going forward, and perhaps recapturing the form that saw him win that MVP award five years ago. If the 27-year-old has a solid season in New York, the Knicks would hold his Bird Rights when he becomes eligible for free agency in 2017.

By acquiring Rose, the Knicks will perhaps shift their focus in free agency more toward big men. The team could still use backcourt help, particularly at the two, with Arron Afflalo opting out, but losing Lopez will leave a hole at center in New York. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News suggests (via Twitter) that Dwight Howard, Joakim Noah, and Pau Gasol could be among the Knicks’ targets in July, and we know Howard would be open to signing with New York.

Noah and Gasol, of course, are Bulls free agents, but the odds of those players both landing elsewhere appear to be on the rise with Lopez headed to Chicago. If the Bulls go into full rebuilding mode, Jimmy Butler could be a trade candidate as well, but considering they acquired veteran players in exchange for Rose, I’d be surprised if the Bulls go in that direction.

As Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com tweets, the Bulls have been eyeing point guard prospects in this year’s draft class, and while the team won’t get Kris Dunn at No. 14, a player like Wade Baldwin is a potential target. In Calderon, Chicago will at least have a solid veteran at the position for one more year.

From a financial perspective, the salaries involved in the swap are virtually a wash, despite Rose’s $20MM+ cap figure. Lopez, Grant, and Calderon combined to earn $21,625,172 in 2015/16, compared to $21,040,340 for Rose and Holiday. As Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets, Rose’s 15% trade kicker won’t be applied to this deal, since his salary would exceed the max with that kicker — it would have been in play if the trade had been completed in July.

The Knicks create a traded player exception worth $1,572,360, the amount of Grant’s salary, but will likely renounce that exception next month in order to use space under the cap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Acquire Kirk Hinrich In Three-Team Deal

February 18th, 2016 at 11:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jennifer Stewart / USA Today Sports Images

4:16pm: The Bulls traded Kirk Hinrich to the Hawks as part of a three-team swap that also involved the Jazz, all three teams announced. Chicago, in its first trade since July 2014, gets Justin Holiday from the Hawks and Denver’s unprotected 2018 second-round pick from the Jazz, who acquired it from the Nuggets in 2013. Utah receives Shelvin Mack from the Hawks.

Hinrich returns to Atlanta, where he spent a season and a half as part of the two-year hiatus in his Bulls career from 2010-12. The 35-year-old is in his 13th NBA season and his 11th with Chicago. However, he’d never had such a limited role, with his minutes only at 15.9 per game this season, by far a career low. Any playing time he gets in Atlanta figures to come at the wing instead of the point guard spot, since the Hawks held on to Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder in spite of rumors about both, and Teague in particular.

Atlanta did end up dealing away Mack, its third-string point guard, who, like Hinrich, is playing the fewest minutes he’s ever seen in his career at 7.5 a game. The 25-year-old Mack, a fifth-year veteran, becomes the most experienced point guard for the Jazz, who’ve de-emphasized the position in the wake of the offseason injury to Dante Exum that wiped out his season. Utah’s reported talks about swapping point guards Ty Lawson and Trey Burke fell through. Mack has a non-guaranteed salary of more than $2.433MM for next season.

Holiday, the other player the Hawks gave up, picked up a championship with the Warriors last summer and shortly thereafter signed a two-year fully guaranteed deal for the minimum salary with Atlanta. His minutes are down slightly but his shot attempts and scoring are off markedly from last year’s numbers. The primary benefit for Chicago, aside from the pick, is the financial savings, as the Bulls subtract the $1,907,664 difference between Hinrich’s and Holiday’s salaries from their payroll. That also clears the Bulls of nearly $2.9MM in projected luxury tax penalties. The deal allows Chicago to create a trade exception equivalent to Hinrich’s $2,854,940 salary.

Atlanta gets to create a trade exception worth the equivalent of Holiday’s $947,276 salary, since Mack’s $2,433,333 pay is a close match with Hinrich’s, even though a 15% trade kicker that Chicago is paying Hinrich gives him a slight bump on his salary. The Jazz remain under the cap, using a slice of the roughly $7.6MM in cap room they had entering deadline day to take in Mack’s salary.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com broke the news that Hinrich was headed to Atlanta (Twitter link), while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported the Jazz were getting Mack and giving up a second-round pick (Twitter link). K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relayed that Holiday was going to the Bulls and that all the pieces were part of the same three-teamer, rather than separate deals (Twitter link). Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution pegged the second-round pick going to Chicago as Denver’s 2018 second-rounder. RealGM shows that the pick carries no protection.

Southeast Notes: Green, Beal, Skiles

November 5th, 2015 at 8:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Gerald Green is “safe and healthy,” according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who offered little else about the swingman who was hospitalized early Wednesday with an undisclosed illness, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald details. Sources told fellow Herald scribe Barry Jackson that the local rescue department in Miami requested assistance from police because of a “combative patient” at the address where Green lives, but the police didn’t write a report or make any arrests. A recording of a 911 call indicated that Green was unconscious and bleeding during the incident, Navarro relays. Green missed Tuesday’s game and isn’t with the team for Thursday’s game in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.

“I talked to him today and he said he was doing better,” Dwyane Wade said, according to Navarro. “That’s all I can ask for.” Wade added that he and other Heat players still don’t know exactly what’s going on with Green but that they’re glad Mario Chalmers was with him when the incident took place, Navarro notes.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

It appears to be a good thing that the Wizards reportedly intend to re-sign Bradley Beal for the maximum next summer, seeing as the shooting guard certainly considers himself worthy of that sum, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post relays (on Twitter). When asked if he thinks he’s a max player, Beal responded, “Yeah. I do,” Castillo notes. The Wizards reportedly intend on utilizing their available cap space next summer prior to finalizing a new contract with Beal.
New Magic coach Scott Skiles has gotten the most out of his young team so far this season, and despite the team’s 1-4 start, the early returns have been positive, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Swingman Evan Fournier‘s strong play has also been encouraging, but the downside is that it may be more difficult to re-sign him next summer when he is eligible to become a restricted free agent, Schmitz notes.
Hawks shooting guard Justin Holiday has made the most of his extra playing time as Thabo Sefolosha continues to work his way back from injury, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “He’s gotten a couple of opportunities and has taken advantage of those opportunities,” coach Mike Budenholzer said of Holiday. “We went with him tonight without Kyle Korver suiting up. He got more minutes and more opportunities. I think it’s his defense, his activity and his length. He’s making some shots and making some plays. We’ve got a good group there with wings all fighting for opportunity.” Holiday inked a two-year, $1.963MM deal with Atlanta this past offseason.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Dragic, Napier, Smith, Holiday

October 7th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Goran Dragic has a new five-year deal worth more than $85MM with the Heat, and he also has more responsibility and a stronger roster around him than ever before, notes Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. Dragic only has played in one NBA postseason, but odds are that’ll change by this spring.

“There’s definitely more pressure now,” Dragic said to Lieser. “You need to show people that you’re worth that money. I know I have my spot, but you need to prove to everybody that you deserve it. There’s pressure, and you need to deal with it. I can do that.”

See more on an ex-Heat point guard amid the latest from the Southeast Division:

Shabazz Napier likes his new surroundings with the Magic and wasn’t surprised when the Heat traded him in the offseason, observes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. “During the summer you hear lot of rumors. What actually happened, I wasn’t too surprised at all. If it hit me where I didn’t know about it, then I’d be surprised,” Napier said. “But I kind of had a feeling they kind of needed to get some trades off. I sensed it because I have a great agent [Rob Pelinka], not because I felt they wanted me to get out of there. It’s just sometimes it’s business. They needed extra money and they didn’t need the luxury tax and what not.”
The Sixers made Ish Smith an offer to return, and the Kings and Suns offered him deals, too, before he instead signed with the Wizards, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers seem like they could have used him, but Smith faces long odds to stick for opening night in Washington, since he has a non-guaranteed deal on a roster with 15 fully guaranteed contracts, Pompey writes.
Justin Holiday, one of the few members of the Warriors championship team to depart Golden State this summer, is hoping to follow in DeMarre Carroll‘s footsteps as an under-the-radar signee who blossoms with the Hawks, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders details. Holiday’s two-year deal with Atlanta is for the minimum salary, as Basketball Insiders scribe Eric Pincus shows. “The main thing that appealed to me was how the team played,” Holiday said. “Just how coach [Mike Budenholzer] goes about doing things here. I guess DeMarre leaving, obviously that made it available for me to come. So that has to be a big reason why I’m here, but I guess I didn’t focus as much on him not being here. I just think the way they do things here is the main reason why I felt like this was a good place for me to come.”

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Holiday, Magic

September 18th, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards are hoping that their $55MM Entertainment and Sports Arena which, when construction is completed, will serve as their practice facility, among other uses, will be a powerful lure for free agents, especially Kevin Durant, who is set to hit the open market next summer, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. Team owner Ted Leonsis also plans to add a D-League affiliate in the near future that will play in the new facility, Youngmisuk adds. Washington is currently operating without its own D-League affiliate.

“The Wizards would have a world-class practice facility and our fans would be able to watch practice,” Leonsis said. “And then we would attach to that facility a mini arena that would be really state of the art, maybe seat 3,000 to 5,000 people and we can do charity events there and have some preseason games there and maybe the Washington Mystics would play some games there. And we’d then also want to bring a D-League team there to the community and we would program it to put it in a part of the city that can really use hundreds of jobs,” he added. “Verizon Center is credited with helping turn around downtown D.C. and we think we can do it again in another community that needs a bear hug and some transformation.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Hawks have officially named Michael Blackstone as assistant GM, John Treloar as Director of Player Personnel, Malik Rose as Manager of Basketball Operations, Dotun Akinwale as Manager of Scouting, Matt Elijah as Manager of Basketball Administration, Daniel Starkman as Coordinator of Basketball Operations and David Painter as Director of Basketball Facilities, the team announced (h/t to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who first reported the moves).
The Magic have an intriguing collection of talent on paper, though it remains to be seen how well the players will mesh together on the court, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) writes in his season preview. Orlando has enough firepower to make the postseason, but it may take another season before the team gets there, Bontemps concludes.
Justin Holiday is itching to assume a larger role with the Hawks than he had on a stacked Warriors squad in 2014/15, KL Chouinard of NBA.com writes in a profile of the guard. The 26-year-old appeared in 59 contests for Golden State last season, but only averaged 11.1 minutes of action per night. Holiday inked a two year pact with Atlanta this offseason.

Hawks Sign Justin Holiday

July 9th, 2015 at 6:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

THURSDAY, 6:18pm: The deal is official, the Hawks announced in a press release. “Justin’s abilities on both ends of the court excited us as we looked to add depth on the wing,” coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said. “His combination of length and versatility with a great work ethic give him a chance to be a solid contributor on the court, and his experience on a championship team this past season and his high-character will be great positives for our locker room.”

6:14pm: Holiday’s deal is for two years, and is fully guaranteed, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets.

WEDNESDAY, 5:46pm: The Hawks have reached an agreement on a contract with unrestricted free agent Justin Holiday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The exact length and amount of the deal has not been disclosed at this time.

The 26-year-old spent last season with the NBA champion Warriors, appearing in 59 games and averaging 4.3 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 11.1 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .387/.321/.822. His career averages are 4.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, and 0.9 APG.

Golden State had declined to extend Holiday a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent, and the team was considering re-signing him for less than the $1.147MM tender that would have counted against the team’s cap figure. The shooting guard will provide depth at the wing for the Hawks, who are set to lose unrestricted free agent DeMarre Carroll to the Raptors.

Pacific Notes: Williams, Lakers, Looney

June 29th, 2015 at 10:55pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have expressed interest in bringing forward Derrick Williams back next season, though the organization’s first priority is to upgrade the point guard position, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. Sacramento is reportedly interested in the Suns‘ Eric Bledsoe, and free agent Rodney Stuckey, as well has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Rajon Rondo. Williams can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Kings tender him a qualifying offer worth $4,045,894. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Despite the reports that Kings coach George Karl wants center DeMarcus Cousins traded, Karl is excited to see what a pairing of Cousins and rookie Willie Cauley-Stein can do, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links). Karl believes the duo will mesh well together because each has a different skillset on defense, Jones adds.
The Lakers are expected to try and add a rim-protecting big man, a 3-and-D capable small forward, frontcourt depth, as well as a veteran point guard this summer, Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders writes. Davis lists LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, Robin Lopez, Jimmy Butler, and Wayne Ellington as potential free agent targets for the Lakers.
Steve Kerr doesn’t believe that the Warriors winning a championship his first season as coach will increase the pressure on him, but instead, it will allow him to continue to just be himself, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. “It’s funny you say that because as an observer and an analyst for TNT and even as a player, I always felt that when a coach won a championship, it freed him up to be himself,” Kerr responded when asked if his approach would change next season. “Coaching in the NBA is such a fleeting thing; guys get fired left and right, and so a lot of guys coach out of fear. And they try to hang onto their jobs. I always felt like the ones who won titles were freed up to just do it their way and to not worry about anything.”
Todd Ramasar, the agent for Warriors draftee Kevon Looney, denied the reports that his client underwent surgery on his hip last year, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. Looney believes that he can continue to play without surgery but will undergo a medical evaluation to determine if a procedure is necessary, Leung adds. “I had suffered a hip injury when I first got to UCLA, and I played the whole season with it,” Looney said. “I went through the [draft] workouts with it. I still can play now. I can play just fine. I can walk good. I’m not hurting right now. I’m looking to the doctors to tell me what they really want to do, but this is an injury that I had, and I can actually play with, and I can actually do well with it.“
Though the Warriors declined to extend Justin Holiday a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason, the team may look to re-sign him for less than the $1.147MM tender it would have required to make Holiday a restricted free agent, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets.

And-Ones: Lopez, Crawford, Holiday

March 22nd, 2015 at 10:02pm CST by Will Joseph

With the way Brook Lopez has played this season, he has plenty of reason to not exercise his $16.7MM player option for the 2015/16 season with the Nets, and instead test free agency, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes. Lopez signed a four-year, $60.8MM deal with the Nets in July 2012. The big man is averaging 16.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game since the All-Star break, so he would likely receive plenty of interest from several teams, Bontemps adds. Lopez played in only 17 games last season because of a foot injury.

“I haven’t thought about that,” Lopez said of the player option. “I want to keep going, keep continuing to get my legs under me, and back to confidently playing basketball and being the player I normally can be. That’s still way out. I always take it one game at a time, so it’s definitely a ways out.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Clippers coach Doc Rivers said “there’s a chance” that Jamal Crawford will not return this season and added that the veteran guard is nowhere near playing, Melissa Rohlin of The Los Angeles Times writes. The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year has a very deep bruise on his right calf, and he’s had to have it drained once in the last 10 days, the Clippers said before Sunday’s game. The Clippers have gone 6-4 since losing Crawford, who is averaging 16.4 PPG this season. J.J. Redick has stepped up without Crawford by scoring at least 20 points in each of his last four games. “Jamal told me he’s feeling better,” Rivers said. “It’s just that it doesn’t seem like it. Honestly, we don’t know. There’s no target date for Jamal, for sure.”
There’s a strong chance Justin Holiday‘s short run as the Warriors’ starting shooting guard ends Monday if Klay Thompson‘s sprained right ankle is healed, but the journeyman has made strides toward improving his game while playing in an enhanced role, Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group writes.

Central Notes: Allen, Mozgov, Whittington

January 22nd, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James paid a visit to Ray Allen recently to try to recruit the free agent sharpshooter to the Cavs, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Fellow Cavs James Jones and Mike Miller, as well as Cavs assistant coach Tyronn Lue, have also remained in contact with Allen, who this week hinted that he’ll play this season. The Cavs have plenty of competition for the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shot maker, though the Warriors are no longer mulling a run at him amid the emergence of Justin Holiday, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. While we wait to see if Cleveland winds up with yet another of its targets, here’s more from the Central Division:

Timofey Mozgov has had a tangible positive effect on the Cavs, and LeBron is quite pleased with the big man, as USA Today’s Sam Amick and Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group detail. “When we made the trade, everything that he brings us is what we needed and wanted,” James said about Mozgov. “He’s going to be huge for our team. Very, very skilled offensively and understands defensively. Just a smart basketball player and great playing with him.”
Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird and coach Frank Vogel have spoken about giving more playing time to rookie Shayne Whittington, notes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Whittington is set for restricted free agency at season’s end.
Pistons owner Tom Gores insists he never second-guessed his decision to hire Stan Van Gundy, even as the team stumbled to a 5-23 start before its recent turnaround, MLive’s Brendan Savage observes. “Never,” Gores said. “Never. You got that on the record? Never. We have an amazing guy. I’m so, so proud that we got him here to Detroit.”

And-Ones: Holiday, D-League, Jerrett, Kuzmic

November 15th, 2014 at 12:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LeBron James wasn’t the only player to reach a career scoring milestone last night as Tim Duncan passed the 25,000 point mark for his career, becoming the 19th player ever to do so. Duncan is also only the second player ever to reach 25,000 points, 14,000 rebounds and 2,500 blocks, with the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being the other. So congratulations go out to the “Big Fundamental” on this amazing achievement.

Here are more doings from around the league:

Justin Holiday and Ognjen Kuzmic have been recalled from the D-League, the Warriors have announced. The pair helped lead Santa Cruz to a 122-95 season-opening victory over the Los Angeles D-Fenders last night. Holiday scored a team-high 26 points and also added six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal in 36 minutes. Kuzmic totaled six points, a team-high 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in 29 minutes of action.
The Thunder have assigned Grant Jerrett to the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. Jerrett appeared in 27 games last season for the Blue, averaging 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game. He hasn’t seen any NBA action thus far this season.
The NBA D-League season began last night and the crew over at SB Nation previewed 10 of the league’s teams including the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Heat), Grand Rapids Drive (Pistons), Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors), Canton Charge (Cavs), and Reno Bighorns (Kings).