Kelly Oubre Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Washington, Available FAs, Player Tiers, CBA

August 15th, 2023 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

Exploring possible destinations for some of the top remaining free agents, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report suggests that many people around the league think that P.J. Washington – the only standard restricted free agent still on the board – will eventually accept his qualifying offer from the Hornets. Pincus also confirms that the Lakers have conveyed interest in big man Christian Wood.

In considering a potential landing spot for Kelly Oubre, who averaged more than 20 points per game last season, Pincus notes that Memphis makes some sense. While it’s not clear if the Grizzlies have actually expressed interest in Oubre, Pincus points out that they haven’t really replaced Dillon Brooks at forward and have some young players – such as Ziaire Williams or Josh Christopher – who might appeal to the Hornets in a sign-and-trade scenario.

Here are a few more odds and ends from the league:

Seth Partnow of The Athletic has published the first two installments of his player tier rankings for the 2023/24 season. Breaking down the top 125 players of the league into five tiers, Partnow lists 45 players in tier five – including Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes – and 41 more in tier four, such as Kings center Domantas Sabonis, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. Partnow’s top three tiers will consist of 39 players and will presumably be posted later this week.
Now that hoarding cap room into the regular season is no longer a viable strategy, Rob Mahoney of The Ringer wonders how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will change the way that rebuilding teams approach future offseasons.
With no sign that the Damian Lillard or James Harden situations will be resolved anytime soon, John Hollinger of The Athletic questions whether the NBA’s player empowerment era has reached its ceiling. During the last several years, stars who ask for trades have sought increasingly specific destinations despite having less and less leverage, Hollinger observes, adding that the outcomes for Lillard and Harden could create new benchmarks for future star trade requests.

Cavaliers Notes: L. Nance Jr., P. Nance, Travers, Roster Opening

July 29th, 2023 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

In an appearance on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Larry Nance Jr. said he feels fortunate that his younger brother will get a chance to carry on the family tradition of playing for the Cavaliers. Pete Nance will reportedly be offered an Exhibit 10 contract after being part of the Cavs’ Summer League team. Nance Jr. played several seasons in Cleveland, and his father was a star with the Cavaliers in the 1980s and ’90s.

Nance Jr. was in Las Vegas to watch his Pelicans teammates in action as well as his younger brother, who is trying to earn a spot in the NBA as an undrafted prospect. He believes his brother can succeed at the professional level and offered him some advice on how to deal with his first Summer League.

“We talk all the time,” Nance Jr. said. “Going into Summer League, I think the biggest thing I told him was, he had such momentum, coming off obviously a rough college season, but then the momentum he built going into draft workouts and then being (at the draft combine) in Chicago training for it, just carrying that over into Summer League was great. Just go be aggressive, shoot your shots when you decide you want to shoot them and play your game.”

There’s more on the Cavaliers:

Nance also talked about the circumstances that led to him being traded to Portland prior to the 2021/22 season. The team had just drafted Evan Mobley, whom Nance said was obviously headed for stardom, and gave a five-year extension to Jarrett Allen. With Kevin Love also on the roster, Nance didn’t believe he would get regular rotation minutes if he stayed in Cleveland. “It had gone from me really enjoying playing the Larry Nance Jr. thing, in my dad’s footsteps … and at a certain point it became a little redundant. I still loved being in Cleveland, still loved having my family around and loved playing for the Cavs, but I needed to step away from all this and go play on a playoff team and really go show what I’ve got.”
The Cavaliers and Luke Travers reached a mutual decision that he will continue to play in Australia, he told Australian media outlet Code Sports (hat tip to Mike Battaglino of Cavaliers Nation). A second-round pick in 2022, Travers was one of the Cavs’ top players in Las Vegas as they won the Summer League title. “The talk is just one more year (in the NBL) and hopefully it’s a good one,” he said. “To be able to come back, it’s what I wanted to do to continue to develop my game in Melbourne and I’m coming here to win. Coming over here, there’s a lot of clarity. They (Cleveland and Melbourne United) have been awesome about it, so getting that (uncertainty) out of the way makes everything else easier.”
In a subscriber-only story, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com looks at 10 possible free agent options for the Cavaliers with their open roster spot, including Kelly Oubre, Terrence Ross, Derrick Jones and T.J. Warren.

Heat Notes: Lillard, Cain, Audige, Free Agents, Roster

July 28th, 2023 at 6:41pm CST by Rory Maher

As of Friday afternoon, nothing appeared to be imminent regarding a possible Damian Lillard trade, reports Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

According to Jackson, the Trail Blazers‘ front office is currently on vacation and has shown no inclination to comply with Lillard’s trade request to the Heat. That said, Lillard remains focused on landing in Miami and doesn’t plan expand his list to include additional teams, a person with knowledge of the situation tells Jackson.

Jackson believes the Blazers may have spurred the league to investigate Lillard’s request and the comments made by his agent (Aaron Goodwin) in order to drum up trade interest, hence the NBA’s memo on Friday. Since Lillard and Goodwin told the league the star guard would fulfill his contract and play for any team that trades for him, the Heat will have to hope rival teams don’t decide to make “legitimate trade offers” for the 33-year-old, Jackson observes (Twitter links).

If Portland decides to wait until midseason to move Lillard, that could work against the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Winderman notes, the Nets received far more in return for Kevin Durant at the February trade deadline than the rumored offers they were receiving last summer for the superstar forward.

Here’s more out of Miami:

The Heat are interested in bringing back Jamal Cain on a two-way contract, which is why they gave him a qualifying offer, but the young forward hopes to land a standard deal and continues to discuss that possibility with other teams, Jackson writes. Miami could match a potential offer sheet for Cain since he’s a restricted free agent.
Miami is interested in signing former Northwestern guard Chase Audige, who played for the Heat’s Summer League team, to a training camp contract, but his agent declined to say whether or not Audige would accept the offer, Jackson adds. As a senior for the Wildcats in 2022/23, the 6’4″ Audige averaged 14.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.9 APG and 2.4 SPG in 34 games (34.4 MPG), though he struggled with scoring efficiency (.368/.325/.832 shooting line).
The Heat have had discussions with Goran Dragic‘s representatives about a possible reunion, but a potential deal likely wouldn’t come to fruition until later this summer, according to Jackson. The veteran free agent guard made his lone All-Star appearance with the Heat, but he’s 37 years old and dealt with a knee problem last season that required surgery. The Heat can only offer the veteran’s minimum, which may take them out of the running for free agents like Christian Wood and Kelly Oubre, who are looking for more money, per Jackson.
In a mailbag for The Miami Herald, Anthony Chiang answers questions about the Heat’s roster and how the new second apron might affect the team going forward.

Cavaliers Continue To Eye Free Agent Market

July 16th, 2023 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers remain interested in adding at least one more free agent to their roster before training camp, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). According to Fedor, the team isn’t targeting any specific position and is simply focused on “playable depth.”

As Fedor outlines, the Cavaliers currently have 12 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Sam Merrill on a non-guaranteed deal. The club has about $3MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line and has no interest in becoming a taxpayer, so the 15th roster spot will probably remain open to start the season. In all likelihood, the Cavs would add one more player on a minimum-salary contract (or two, if Merrill is cut) in order to set the regular season roster.

Sources tell Fedor that Cleveland has registered interest in some of the top unrestricted free agents still available on the open market, including forward Kelly Oubre and center Christian Wood. Oubre was viewed as the Cavs’ Plan B if they hadn’t been able to land Max Strus via sign-and-trade, Fedor adds.

Fedor also mentions restricted free agent P.J. Washington, noting that the Cavs might have enough expendable salary (starting with Ricky Rubio and Dean Wade) to build a sign-and-trade package for the Hornets forward. However, I don’t see a scenario in which Cleveland could put together an offer that appeals to Charlotte, pays Washington the sort of money he’s seeking, and keeps the Cavs out of the tax.

Cleveland’s next signing will probably be a “minor” one, Fedor acknowledges, with the team looking to land a “cheaper-than-expected” rotation player at the veteran’s minimum like Golden State did with Dario Saric.

Free Agent Rumors: Oubre, Jones, Brooks, Smith, Giles

July 15th, 2023 at 1:43pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks are actively looking to improve their roster and have shown “exploratory interest in several free agent forwards,” including veterans Kelly Oubre and Derrick Jones Jr., league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Although Dallas technically still has a good chunk of its full mid-level exception available, the team has yet to sign first-rounder Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and once that occurs the Mavs will be pretty close to the luxury tax line. They do have an open standard roster spot and could offer a free agent more money than the veteran’s minimum, but not much more unless other moves are made.

On a related note, Scotto confirms that the Mavs continue to shop Tim Hardaway Jr. and JaVale McGee in trade talks. Recent rumors have indicated Dallas tried to package Hardaway and McGee to the Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic and Killian Hayes.

Scotto hears Detroit was looking for “essentially two first-round picks” in exchange for Bogdanovic last season, though Hayes could available with a glut of guards on the Pistons’ roster.

Here are more free agent rumors from Scotto:

Free agent guard Armoni Brooks, who has been playing well for the Nets in Summer League, could be a candidate for a two-way deal from Brooklyn, according to Scotto. However, if that doesn’t transpire, the 25-year-old has also drawn interest from “multiple EuroLeague teams,” Scotto reports. Brooks holds two years of NBA experience with the Rockets and Raptors. He played for Atlanta’s G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, in 2022/23.
League sources tell Scotto that the Hornets offered Dennis Smith Jr. more than the veteran’s minimum to return to Charlotte, but the Nets reached out to the point guard right after free agency opened and he saw an opportunity for more playing time in Brooklyn. The fact that he was a priority for the Nets also appealed to the former lottery pick, says Scotto.
The Pistons, Cavaliers, Knicks and Bucks were among the teams who watched Harry Giles‘ recent workout in Las Vegas, sources tell Scotto. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News recently reported that members of the Timberwolves attended as well, which Scotto confirms. A former first-round pick, Giles has been out of the league the past two seasons after playing with the Kings and Trail Blazers from 2018-21. Still just 25 years old, Giles recently discussed his attempt to make it back into the NBA.

Southeast Notes: Oubre, Poole, Vukcevic, Magic

June 28th, 2023 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

An abundance of wing players makes it unlikely that the Hornets will re-sign Kelly Oubre, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The free agent forward has expressed a desire to stay in Charlotte and was a valuable contributor last season, but there may not be enough playing time for him with the new roster.

The addition of No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller and the expected return of Miles Bridges reduce the need for Oubre, Boone adds. Gordon Hayward will be back for another season unless the Hornets can find a taker for his $31.5MM expiring contract, and Cody Martin and Bryce McGowens will also compete for playing time.

Oubre has spent the past two seasons in Charlotte after signing as a free agent in 2021. He averaged 17.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 124 games and was effective both as a starter and coming off the bench.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Jordan Poole should be the focal point of the Wizards‘ offense next season, Josh Robbins and Anthony Slater of The Athletic state in a look at what he’ll bring to Washington. The Wizards have already traded Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma may be leaving in free agency. Without their top three scorers from last season, much of the offense will flow through Poole, who showed an ability to carry the scoring load at times with the Warriors. Robbins notes that coach Wes Unseld Jr. gave Kuzma the freedom to create his own shots, which will likely also happen with Poole.
In an interview with NBC Sports Washington, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said he was happy to land Serbian center Tristan Vukcevic with the 42nd pick in last week’s draft. “Young, 20 years old. He’s played internationally, I feel like I’ve watched him for a long time now, since he was a youth as well,” Dawkins said. “With him, seven feet, skilled, can pass, can shoot.” It hasn’t been determined if the Wizards will bring Vukcevic to the NBA next season or have him spend more time in Europe, but Dawkins plans to talk to his representatives about having him play in Summer League.
Dylan Murphy is the new head coach for the Magic‘s G League affiliate in Osceola, the team announced (via Twitter). Murphy has been with Orlando for five years and was an assistant coach for the last three seasons.

Heat Rumors: Vincent, Strus, Lowry, Wood, Herro

June 28th, 2023 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have two rotation guards facing unrestricted free agency this week, and Gabe Vincent is considered a better bet to remain in Miami than Max Strus, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

There’s mutual interest in a new deal between the Heat and Vincent, whom the team values at a figure of about $10MM per year, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

As Fischer outlines, teams like the Suns, Pistons, Sixers, and Mavericks initially appeared to be among Vincent’s potential suitors. However, the Suns were probably only in play if they’d been forced to waive-and-stretch Chris Paul, while the Pistons may no longer be in the market for a free agent guard after making a trade for Marcus Sasser on draft night. Philadelphia and Dallas, meanwhile, would have interest in a guard like Vincent if they’re unable to re-sign James Harden and Kyrie Irving, respectively, but for now those stars appear likely to stick with their current teams.

Strus should be more popular on the open market, with cap-room teams like the Pistons, Pacers, and Magic among the possible suitors cited by league personnel, Fischer writes. Some clubs with the full mid-level exception will also have interest in Strus, according to Fischer — he mentions the Cavaliers as one, though he notes that Cleveland is also eyeing free agents like Kelly Oubre and Georges Niang.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his latest Lowe Post podcast that there’s a “ridiculous” amount of Strus buzz happening around the NBA right now. Lowe is confident that Strus will at least get a deal worth the full mid-level exception ($12.4MM) and says a team with cap room might top that figure, which is a point Fischer makes as well. People around the league aren’t expecting Strus to re-sign with the Heat, Fischer adds.

Here’s more on the Heat:

If Miami re-signs Vincent and doesn’t find a trade that requires Kyle Lowry‘s $29.7MM expiring contract, league personnel are preparing for the possibility that the Heat will waive Lowry, says Fischer. A report on Tuesday indicated that the team was considering the possibility of using the stretch provision on the veteran point guard. There’s already speculation about his possible free agent destinations, Fischer says, noting that a return to the Raptors would be a possible path for Lowry in that scenario.
Christian Wood has been continually identified by league personnel as a player who is on the Heat’s radar in free agency, Fischer reports. Wood isn’t expected to re-sign with Dallas.
If the Heat get the opportunity to make a play for Damian Lillard, there’s an expectation that Tyler Herro will be part of the package they offer the Trail Blazers. However, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com that Portland is “lukewarm” on Herro. It’s a moot point for now, since the Blazers remain focused on keeping Lillard. But if Dame does request a trade, it could become an important factor in trade talks.

Rockets Rumors: Harden, FA Targets, Thompson, Martin, Splitter

June 13th, 2023 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Although there have been several reports in recent weeks and months linking free agent guard James Harden to Houston, there have also been rumblings that the Rockets aren’t interested in giving the former MVP a maximum-salary contract, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype said on the HoopsHype podcast.

Scotto’s guest on the podcast, Kelly Iko of The Athletic, agrees with that statement, noting that Houston would like to add three or four veterans this offseason and doesn’t want to be using $45MM of its $60MM in cap room on a single player.

According to Iko, people within the Rockets’ organization – including players – and people close to Harden are fairly split on whether or not the 10-time All-Star will return to Houston, with some confident about the odds of a reunion and others skeptical. Skepticism is the dominant view among rival executives who have spoken to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com — many of those execs expressed confusion about the fit, though some did suggest that a short-term deal might make some sense.

If the Rockets don’t land Harden and look elsewhere on the free agent market for a point guard, Iko views Fred VanVleet as a more likely target than Kyrie Irving. Both Iko and Scotto have also heard that Austin Reaves is a player Houston likes, though Reaves will be a restricted free agent and the Lakers are considered likely to match any offer sheets he signs.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Iko views Brook Lopez as a bit of a “pipe dream” for Houston, since the veteran center seems likely to remain with the Bucks. Iko names Clint Capela, Kristaps Porzingis, Myles Turner, Josh Hart, Dillon Brooks, as Kelly Oubre as possible targets for the Rockets in free agency or via trades, though he again acknowledges that some of those options are more viable than others. Hart, for instance, is considered a strong bet to remain with the Knicks, as Scotto points out.
New head coach Ime Udoka will have “a huge say in who he coaches,” according to Iko, which could be an important factor as the Rockets consider which players to pursue most aggressively this offseason.
Iko believes Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson will be the top prospect on Houston’s board if there are no surprises in the top three picks in the draft. Iko has heard the Rockets believe the gap between Thompson and Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson isn’t as big as the consensus suggests.
Coming off a strong season, Kenyon Martin Jr. would “prefer to get paid now,” either as a restricted free agent or on an extension, says Iko. However, it remains to be seen whether Martin is in the Rockets’ long-term plans or if he might end up back on the trade block in the coming weeks. It’s possible Houston could postpone its decision on Martin, simply exercising his minimum-salary team option and determining during the season whether to try to extend or trade him.
According to Iko, Tiago Splitter, who worked with Udoka in Brooklyn and played with him in San Antonio, may be a candidate to join the Rockets’ coaching staff — especially if the team’s pursuit of Aaron Miles doesn’t pan out.

Western Notes: Landale, Grizzlies, Towns, Gobert

May 12th, 2023 at 7:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Backup center Jock Landale, who will be a restricted free agent if Phoenix gives him a qualifying offer, hopes to remain with the Suns long term.

“This is a city and a fanbase and an organization I’d love to be a part of for the rest of my career if I could,” Landale said (Twitter video link via PHNX Suns).

The 27-year-old Australian had relatively modest numbers in the regular season, averaging 6.6 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 69 games (14.2 MPG).

However, after making just one brief appearance in Phoenix’s five-game series against the Clippers, Landale made his mark against Denver, as Phoenix was plus-34 over his 106 minutes in the series, with a positive plus/minus in five of his six games despite the club losing four of those contests and ultimately getting eliminated.

Here’s more from the West:

Tyus Jones, Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams, David Roddy and Jake LaRavia are among the players who could be on the move if the Grizzlies decide to go after a major upgrade at small forward, according to Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal, who notes that general manager Zach Kleiman said the team plans to be aggressive in looking for roster reinforcements.
In another story for The Memphis Commercial Appeal, Cole lists five small forwards the Grizzlies could target in free agency with their mid-level exception. Those five players are Caris LeVert, Kelly Oubre, Jae Crowder, Harrison Barnes and Bruce Brown.
On the Podcast P podcast with Paul George, Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns said he was taken aback by last summer’s Rudy Gobert trade. “It was definitely something I wasn’t ready for,” Towns said, per Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. “I remember being in London and getting that call. I didn’t actually have no idea that was happening. I was told by social media like everybody else, so that was something.” Towns added that he had already been preparing as though he was going to be playing center, so moving to power forward was “definitely an adjustment.”

Central Notes: Pacers, Pistons, Duren, Cavs

May 11th, 2023 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Indiana will be hosting six prospects on Friday for the team’s first pre-draft workout, the Pacers announced in a press release.

The six players are UConn’s Andre Jackson, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez, Missouri’s Kobe Brown, Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma, North Dakota State’s Grant Nelson, and Liutauras Lelevicius, a Lithuanian prospect who played for Zalgris II this past season.

Jackson (30), Jaquez (32), Brown (43), Kaluma (90), and Nelson (94) all appear on ESPN’s top-100 prospects list, while Lelevicius is unranked. The Pacers control their own lottery pick, two late first-rounders (26th and 29th), and two second-round picks (either 50th or 32nd, plus 55th).

Here’s more from the Central:

Hiring the right head coach, having a successful draft, and acquiring forward depth in free agency are among the top offseason priorities for the Pistons, according to Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscriber link), who thinks the team should pursue Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson.
Pistons center Jalen Duren, who was recently named to the All-Rookie Second Team, was mostly pleased with his debut season, but he’s going to work on his conditioning and consistency in year two, Curtis writes in another subscriber-only story. “Consistency is a huge word,” Duren said. “To be great, you have to be consistent. For me, it’s honestly just being locked in and trying to understand what’s going on. ‘Being where my feet are,’ I like to say, and try to take over games, dominate games and affect games in any way possible. … I feel like that will come. I’m excited about what I can be in this league.”
Josh Richardson, Kelly Oubre, Max Strus, Gary Trent Jr. and Jalen McDaniels could be the types of wings the Cavaliers choose to go after in free agency with their mid-level exception, Kelsey Russo states in a mailbag for The Athletic. I don’t see Trent falling to that price point, especially since he could just opt in to his $18.8MM player option if he isn’t confident about getting a better payday, but the other four might be attainable (whether or not they’d be a good fit is another story).